


Stuff Happens

by SammyHeroes1



Series: Wizards Family AU [1]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro, Wizards - Tales of Arcadia
Genre: Depression, F/M, Family Feels, Morgana needs therapy, Second Chances, Slice of Life, Wizards Family AU, funny stuff going on, mentions of historic events, some shit happens and the author doesn't apologize, will include arthurian legends later on, zouxie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:00:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 78,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25886992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SammyHeroes1/pseuds/SammyHeroes1
Summary: After the battle with the Arcane Order, Douxie must take in Merlin, Morgana and Nari into his home because they have nowhere else to go. Two out of three wizards don’t know how to handle themselves in the 21st century and one immortal veggie lady is too curious for her own good. Oh, boy. That’s a recipe for disaster. (Alternate Ending for Wizards)
Relationships: Archie & Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Merlin (Tales of Arcadia), Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan / Zoe, Morgana | Pale Lady & Claire Nuñez
Series: Wizards Family AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915627
Comments: 360
Kudos: 503





	1. Prologue

It was a confusing time for everyone.

They saved the world. Merlin didn’t die a tragic death, but he was still badly wounded, Morgana also didn’t die, but she lost a hand… again. Arthur died… again. Douxie died… but came back to life. Jim got turned into a beast, then to stone, and for some holy reason, a teardrop from Claire made him go back to be a human. Camelot is in ruins and Excalibur is stuck to a stone with no owner… yet.

It was a confusing time for everyone indeed. 

Douxie sighed as he rubbed his forehead. Too much had happened in too little time.

“What are we going to do now?” Jim asked as he grabbed Toby for a tight hug. “The Arcane Order is still out and about. They will come back for Nari.”

Merlin, who had taken to sit by the sidelines over a fallen wall of Camelot, spoke. He gasped and he stood, clenching his wound and walked towards the group. For obvious reasons, Jim couldn’t seem to care much for Merlin’s wound, but he was glad he wasn’t dead. He couldn’t bring himself to wish someone was dead. But he’ll never understand what Douxie saw in that man. He’ll ask him someday.

Douxie was quick to aid his master. Merlin slid one arm behind Douxie’s neck for support while the other held tightly to his staff. “With the mess I made back there, I probably set them back for a few months. We have some time to reflect and think.” Said Douxie.

“Even a bigger mess of giving them the Genesis Seals…” Merlin mumbled to Douxie. The younger wizards gave him a nervous chuckle. “We’ll talk about it later, master.”

Merlin rolled his eyes. Not because he was annoyed, but because he was tired. “While Hisirdoux fought the Order, I created a magical barrier around Arcadia that should keep them away in case they decided to return at this moment.”

Claire frowned. “But you’re hurt. You said most of your magic is working on, well, you not dying.”

Merlin gritted his teeth in slight pain. “Most of it, not all of it.”

Toby spoke. “How long will it last, then?”

“A week… at most. That is, if I don’t die.”

“We have to take you to my mom. She’s a doctor.” Said Jim. Bless the good boy, his compassion knew no walls.

Merlin looked at the boy with a slight sadness and... some other emotion Jim didn’t recognize on the old man.

Douxie smiled. “Let’s go.” He started to walk. “By the way, Merlin, Nari and Morgana can stay in my place. It’s no Camelot, but it’s home.” At the mention of her name, Nari jumped up and down in joy.

The group started to walk when Claire noticed Morgana wasn’t going with them. The girl still felt a bit of fear against the woman that corrupted her, but this adventure had created a large gap between the Morgana that possessed her and the Morgana that striped Excalibur from Arthur. “Morgana?”

The woman looked up in surprise, clenching the place where her left hand was supposed to be. “Yes?”

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Me? Why should I?”

“To get medical assistance. And probably some food. Jim’s mom is a doctor, she’ll help with…” Claire looked down at the witch’s arm. “That.”

Morgana looked away, lost in thought. “I have done many grave things, Claire. Who’s to say I will be welcomed?”

“I’ve seen the real you. And I know you want a second chance.” Claire gave her a soft smile. “If I got possessed by you and I’m giving you a second chance now, I think you will be fine. With a bit more work, maybe we could be friends.” She extended her hand to the former Eldritch Queen. An olive branch of sorts. Forgiveness. Morgana gently took her hand in acceptance.

“Claire… thank you.”


	2. A House Full of Idiots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Douxie takes in the wizards and a microwave explodes. Oh Boy....

Luckily for Douxie, his apartment on top of the bookstore didn’t suffer too many damages to the fire. Magic does make life easier, doesn’t it? But he swore to that very magic, these idiots will be the death of him. Why did he offered them a place to stay? Right, he was a compassionate idiot. 

Doctor Lake was right. He should’ve taken some time off first before deciding to take a whole bunch of ancient beings, not to mention quite unstable, under his roof.   
There had been bandages, some hugs and a tearful reunion between mother and son. It was so moving, that even Merlin was tearing up. But Douxie suspected it was another emotion taking over. Then they tended to their wounds and took time to fully digest what was happening. Barbara had taken a corner of the living room and put up a curtain for her patients’ privacy while she worked from a chair just outside the curtain.

“So, this Order,” Said Barbara as she tended to Merlin, regardless of her opinions of him. “may be coming back?”

“They will if you let me die.” Merlin said offhand. Barbara pressed harder than needed on the wound. “Ah! Woman, careful!”

“That’s doctor to you.”

Douxie rolled his eyes. “Merlin put up a barrier around Arcadia that can keep them away for a few days.”

“But I need to be alive to keep it up!” Said Merlin. Barbara shot him with a glare so deadly even Merlin put up his hands as a sign of defeat.

Toby stood up along with Steve and both saluted. “Rest in Pieces, Merlin the Buttsnack.” Both boys laughed at Merlin’s shame. 

“I’ll turn you two into pigs if you don’t quit it!” Merlin called behind the curtain. Barbara rolled her eyes and resumed working.

Douxie could see from the corner of his eye that Morgana gave a small chuckle too. Speaking of which, she only sat next to Claire. He guessed the young sorceress was the only person in this room comfortable enough to sit beside the Pale Lady. Morgana kept her left arm close to her chest while she drank some hot tea. He understood that warming up to her will take time. Nari, on the other hand, had taken Jim by the hand and begged him to show him around the kitchen. Jim didn’t complain, as he was in his element and it served as a nice distraction from the chaotic living room. The trolls, Aarrrgh and Blinky had a friendly chat with Strickler, retelling their adventures and how the trolls were doing and such. Krel quietly tinkered with some alien tech in the corner, mumbling things like ‘magic and tech, who would have though?’ and ‘if I can recreate magic with this… and that… ay ay ay…’. Archie slept quietly on top of the bookcase.

“There, all done.” Barbara told Merlin, bringing Douxie’s attention back to them. “Don’t overexert yourself or you’ll be seeing me sooner rather than later.” She scolded him as he used his staff to help him walk and sit on the couch beside Morgana. “And no one wants that.” Merlin’s glares did nothing to Barbara, bless that woman.  
“Very well…” His master groaned like a scolded child.

“I guess that’s all of you, then.” Barbara started to put her tools and medicine back in a bag. “Douxie, can I talk to you for a minute?” The doctor pulled the young wizards towards the end of the staircase.

“What is it, Doctor Lake?”

“It’s Barbara. With everything that’s been going on, I think we better be in first name basis.” She smiled at him. “And I just wanted to know how you are dealing with everything?”

“I’m… fine. I guess.”

Barbara nodded. “Look. I know you are taking those three back home with you, but you need to rest. They can stay here for a day or two. But I won’t promise I won’t throw Merlin to the trash.”

Douxie chuckled. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I can take them.”

Barbara sighed. “Very well. But just remember, it will be a handful. You know how Merlin is, I don’t think there’s anyone more capable than you to deal with him. Nari is more like an overpowered, innocent child and Morgana, well…” She lowered her voice. “I know I may be biased at this point, but I don’t trust her. She may have a second chance now, thanks to Claire, but there’s no harm in being weary.”

“Understandable.”

“But speaking as a doctor, I think she needs therapy.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Dying and coming back to life like three times? Getting a hand chopped off by her own brother? Some underlying issues I won’t even begin to count?”

Douxie sighed. “But who will even begin to consider giving her therapy? She is a millennia old powerful sorceress. Not just anyone can do it. Or they will be too scared of her and well…” he scratched his head. “I see your point, but I can’t just not take her home with me. Where will she go?”

Barbara gave him a soft smile. “You’re so compassionate.” She sighed. “It’s fine. When all this blows over, I can try to get her a therapist that can help.”  
“Thank you.”

He brought Merlin, Morgana and Nari with him along with Archie back to the bookstore. He used his magic to open the doors and get inside. The first floor was obviously the bookstore, to which he caught Morgana looking at with slight interest. Douxie made a mental note to let her borrow a couple of modern books. He helped Merlin get to the second floor where he opened a second door and presto, magical apartment.

“Home, sweet home. Not Camelot, but it works.”

There was a descent sized living room with old couches, a bookshelf, TV and a big window overlooking the street, all connected to a dining room and kitchen. Douxie guided them through the hallway leading to the bedrooms and the bathrooms. “I have four rooms, so lucky you! There’s one for each of you!”  
Archie opened the first room as Douxie helped Merlin inside. “Master, you’ll stay here.” 

“I can walk by myself, thank you.”

“Sure, you can.” Said Douxie as he helped sit on the bed. “My room is the one across this one, if you need anything. Décor whatever you like, knock yourself out.”  
He showed Nari her room, to which she stared at in awe. “I’ve never had a room for myself.” She mentioned. Douxie smiled at her. “Well, this one is yours for as long as you need.”

Nari gave him a tight hug. “Thank you! I will see you tomorrow.”

Lastly, he showed Morgana to her room right across Nari’s. “And this is yours. There’s a bookshelf here. You can read them if you like. Make yourself comfortable.”

“I… Douxie, thank you.”

“Rest well.” Douxie gave her one last smile before turning in for the night. Closing the door behind him, he sighed and gave a large yawn.

“You know…” Archie started. “What are you going to do about the kitchen? They don’t know about modern appliances to make one single sandwich. And there's only one bathroom for them.”

"Lucky me, I have a master bathroom." Douxie shrugged. “I’ll wake up before that.”

Which all brought him back to the next day. He guessed everyone will be too tired to wake up so early in the bloody morning, but that obviously did not happen. He stood at the entrance of the hallway with his hair all over the place and oversized gray pajamas. He stared at his kitchen. Or what it used to be.

Morgana, dressed in her usual medieval attire, cleared her throat. “We were just trying to make breakfast.”

“But this damned contraption blew up!” Merlin exclaimed pointing at where his… microwave used to be.

Douxie walked towards the destroyed microwave and opened its door. “You put aluminum in the microwave…”

“So?” Nari asked. 

Archie climbed on top of the counter. “I tried to explain, but they wouldn’t listen. I told them they have to take off the aluminum from the sandwich before heating it up.”

Douxie sighed. “Think of it this way. Certain potions cannot have certain ingredients because it’ll blow up. Same here.”

They made face with an ‘uh’ expression. Douxie sighed. This was going to be hard.


	3. No Idiot Left Behind (Alone)

Douxie looked down at his phone when he heard he was getting constant notifications.

_**Trollhunters Chat** :_

**_Jim added Douxie, Toby, Claire, Eli, Aja, Krel and Steve._ **

_**Jim** : Hey everyone! We have decided to have a group chat to keep everyone updated on supernatural stuff. Claire’s idea._

_**Claire** : Exactly, someone needs the brains in this relationship XD_

_**Jim** : haha…_

_**Toby** : This is Awesomesauce!_

_**Steve** : Can we send picutres?_

_**Claire** : Yes, but no one wants a picture of you glorifying yourself, Steve…_

_**Steve** : Awww…._

_**Douxie** : Nuclear. This way we can know exactly if we need help._

_**Douxie** : I need help._

_**Jim:** What happened? How are things with Merlin, Morgana and Nari?_

_**Douxie** : (typing)_

_**Douxie** : They blew up my microwave this morning. One of them put aluminum inside._

_**Steve** : HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!_

_**Claire** : Steve, don’t laugh!_

_**Toby** : DEATH BY MICROWAVE!!!! AHAHAHA!!!_

_**Claire** : Toby, not you too!_

_**Douxie** : In retrospect, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have left them to make their own breakfast._

_**Jim** : Do you need me to make breakfast?_

_**Douxie** : Thanks for the offer, but you should rest and enjoy time with your mom before deciding what to do with the trolls._

_**Jim** : Got it._

_**Douxie** : Besides, I figured something out, at least for today._

_**Jim** : What?_

_**Douxie** : I introduced them to Fruit Loops._

_**Jim** : ……._

_**Jim** : That’s not breakfast. That’s desert with milk. You offend me. I’m taking something tomorrow._

_**Douxie** : No, Jim._

_**Jim** : Don’t fight me! I’ll bring a real breakfast tomorrow._

_**Douxie** : Thank you. But you really don’t have to._

_**Claire** : Don’t bother fighting him, cooking is his element._

_**Toby** : If you need any help, let us know, wizard boy! And don’t die by a microwave!_

_**Eli** : What’s going on?_

_**Aja** : A new chat! Lively!_

_**Krel** : Oh, no…._

_**Steve** : I’ll explain everything in the “E.T. Come Home” chat._

Douxie smiled at his phone before putting it away and headed to the living room. Three magical beings sat on his couch eating Fruit Loops, Morgana drank hers from a mug due to the lack of left hand.

“Alright, we are going to have some ground rules.” Said Douxie. He walked back and fort in front of Merlin, Morgana and Nari, who sat in the couch like grounded children eating their respective cereal. Archie curled himself on the love seat beside them.

He stopped and sat down on the coffee table. “One, if you don’t know how to use something, ask me or anybody else if we’re in the same room. The microwave—”

Said microwave fell part in the kitchen, its door completely shattered on the ground.

“—the microwave incident was dangerous. Someone could have died. And we did not survive this long to get killed by a microwave.” He received a few nods from the girls and an eyeroll from Merlin. “Two, people nowadays don’t act like people back in the twelve century. So, we’ll be working on your social skills.” He shot a pointed look at Merlin, who in turn gave him a small glare but didn’t complain. “Three, we are getting you a new wardrobe to blend in. No armor, no medieval dresses.”

“What’s wrong with this dress?” Morgana asked.

“Nothing. But no one uses that anymore, believe me. People will stare.” He cleared his throat and went one with his speech. “And rule number four, well…” He scratched the back of his head. “I don’t have a rule number four, but I’ll think of something.”

“Ajem!” Archie called for his attention

“Right, the love seat is Archie’s and no one else. Please don’t sit on it, thank you.”

“Sounds fairly simple. I have watched humans from afar!” Nari exclaimed. “I know what a phone is!”

“Perfect! See, be like Nari!”

“It’s a mirror, right? I’ve seen humans looking at themselves on it.”

Douxie kept his smile for sweet Nari’s sake. “Sort of…”

Merlin sighed and rested his back against the couch. “Very well. But we have to do something about the Arcane Order.”

“How long you said your ward will last?”

“A week if I’m mostly healed by then. After that, I can manage to keep it for as long as needed.”

Douxie rested his elbows on his knees. “And if there were two wizards powering it? Or three?”

Merlin nodded. “That could work, yes, but we mustn’t use Nari magic on it. I fear the Order could override it.”

“My magic, then?” Asked the young master wizard. “And Morgana’s?”

Merlin turned to look at Morgana, who in turn, looked at him with a weary gaze. “Yes, it could, but do you even know the spell?”

“It’s been 900 years. I’m pretty sure I know.”

“Bold of you to assume I don’t know.”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “Very well. It’s a complicated process, to join three types of magic for a ward. We better prepare then.”

OOO

Morgana insistently rubbed the place where her hand used to be. Nari had offered to make her another hand, but Merlin insisted she didn’t. The more magic Nari used, the more the Order could use her magical signature to break into the barrier. Small feats of magic were fine, but not too much and to create a prosthetic that could withstand the amount of magic Morgana possessed equally needed a great amount of it. Her mug laid abandoned on the coffee table. Fruit Loops were… an interesting meal. They were too sugary for her tastes.

Merlin had assured her that he would help her with her hand problem, but all in due time. His magic was the only thing keeping everyone alive at this point and he himself had not fully recovered from his wound even thought he had seen an advanced recovery time.

Nari sat near the love seat petting Archie and telling him how great his fur looked, much to the familiar’s delight. The Pale Lady glanced at Douxie and Merlin sitting on the dining table, discussing ways to fortify the shields around Arcadia. Morgana sighed. She was told to rest, that they will plan a way to safely join their magics to fortify the wards and call her when she was needed. But she knew she just wasn’t trusted. She may have redeemed herself, but trust was another issue, she will have to earn it.

The worst was over now, but she felt so…

…alone.


	4. What are they up to?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look on the struggles on some of the characters. Zoe officially meets the wizards. Merlin still doesn't like her.

Claire sighed in relief after taking a nice warm bath. It felt good to be back home, but she knew it wouldn’t be for too long. They couldn’t leave the trolls alone in New Jersey, especially now that there was no Trollhunter to protect them and Blinky was their leader now, he needed to be there. Her magic can take them back easily, but she felt too tired to really try.

“—It’s dangerous, Javier.” She heard her mother talk to her father in hushed whispers.

Claire couldn’t help but to creep closer to the kitchen and listen in.

“Ophelia. Many things have happened and Claire’s not a normal girl anymore.” There was a pause. “But she’s still our daughter.”

“Javier, she has dark magic, she said it herself!”

“And she has only done good with it.”

“She’s dangerous…”

Claire couldn’t hear it anymore and ran back to her run as quietly as she could. She closed the door behind her and sighed.

“Hey, sis.” NotEnrique, who stayed at her parents’ house while she was away. “What’s wrong?”

“Am I dangerous?”

“Dangerously pretty, you mean.”

Claire chuckled, but there was no real emotion behind it. “I think my mom is afraid of me.”

That seemed to catch the changeling off-guard. “Ophelia? Nah… I think she is more worried about your wellbeing.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. She’s your mom, she loves you. When have I been wrong?”

Claire crossed her arms and gave him pointed look.

“On second thought, don’t answer that.”

OOO

Steve sighed as he looked up to the beautiful morning sky from his window. It almost didn’t feel like they had just gone through the end of the world, again. He wondered what Aja and Eli were doing. It must be nice to visit space. He missed his best friend and his butt kicking ninja angel queen. He sighed. It wasn’t easy trying to fit it when you felt so alone.

He remembered what Lancelot told him, to be courageous. He wasn’t feeling very courageous right now. He felt alone, thrown aside, useless. He wasn’t that much of a help during the battle and Lancelot died. The one person, aside from Coach and his mom and Aja and Eli that truly believed in him.

He just felt so guilty.

_Where did he fit in?_

OOO

Jim sighed as he held baby Walter Jr. in his arms, his new baby brother apparently. Thankfully, all the babies had found proper homes and Barbara and Strickler had decided to keep Walter Jr. A decision that they feared Jim would oppose, but it was quite the opposite, really! The baby had proven to be quite the distraction he needed, and it helped that he had his mom and Strickler with him. He was even starting to love him. He was a well-behaved baby and he brought a smile to Jim whenever he did something cute.

Toby had insisted on crashing at his place for the next few days. “Just making sure my best friend in the whole world is ok!”

But the truth is, he wasn’t ok. So much had happened that he hadn’t had the time to properly register all of it and when he did, he felt like that was it. No more trollhunter, just regular old Jim, not even a weapon to hold and his mind too broken to even begin to pick up the pieces. He didn’t know what to do about the trolls back in New Jersey!

He didn’t feel like the trollhunter, he felt like he had a void inside him. There was something missing, he just didn’t know what it was, and it scared him.

OOO

Zoe thought today was a beautiful day and rarely, she thought of it. But today was nice and it was her day off, up to the point when Douxie called. She sighed and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She knew she shouldn’t feel nervous when he called, they talked constantly, but the mere thought his kind voice made her tremble.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Zoe!”

“Hisirdoux Casperan!” She said as she finished preparing some tea. “What makes you call at this holy hour in the morning?”

“I might need your help. Can you get me a microwave? I’ll pay you extra for it.”

Zoe paused. “A microwave? Douxie, what did you do?”

“For once, it wasn’t my fault.”

“Archie?”

“Nope.”

“Then who?”

“It might have been… a wizard?”

Zoe looked down at her cup of tea. “Douxie, who?” She drank.

“…Merlin, Morgana and the demi-goddess Nari.”

Zoe spit her tea and coughed. “What!?”

“In retrospect, they didn’t have anywhere else to go—"

“You brought the Entitled Arthurian Tool bag, a murderous hoe and a demi-goddess under your roof!? Douxie, what were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I couldn’t leave them to their own devices. That would have been much worse.”

Zoe sighed. Must he be so incredibly kind and stupid… “Fine. I’ll get your stupid microwave.” There goes her day off. “Anything else?”

“Your company?” He smugly replied.

Zoe bit her lower lip to hide a blush. “Nice try, Romeo. I think you have enough company to last you some time.”

“Worth a try.” Said Douxie. “Though, I will need help introducing these guys to society.”

“Not my fort.”

“Please?”

“Nope.”

OOO

Douxie took a big gulp of his glass of water with a painkiller and rested against the couch. He was getting a headache already and its only been one day. He just got off the phone with Zoe over an hour ago, who was bringing him a new microwave, and he couldn’t stop thinking how meeting Merlin will end up. Zoe wasn’t exactly his number one fan.

“It will be fine, Douxie.” Archie was reading the newspaper beside him, legs crossed and everything. The cat made himself comfortable against the couch. Morgana had made herself comfortable in a corner of the living room floor with her nose stuck in a book on modern history. That was more like the Morgana Douxie knew, a bookworm. Nari sat quietly in front of the TV, watching some cartoons.

Merlin emerged from his room with a book at hand and a pen, who he had been enamored with. Much better than a feather and ink bottle to write with. He seemed better, though, limping a little bit. Magic did wonders when you were stabbed with an enchanted sworn and live to tell the tale. “Are we expecting someone?”

“Yes, master. Zoe, she’s the one that gave us asylum at Hex Tech.” He turned to the Pale Lady. “You’ll like her, Morgana.” The only response he received was a ‘mmhh’. She was really into that book, wasn’t she?

“The pink haired girl from the toy store?” Merlin asked.

“It’s not a toy…” Douxie sighed. “Never mind. She’s bringing a new microwave and to properly introduce herself.”

Archie looked up from his newspaper. “She’s Douxie’s love interest.”

“Archie!” Douxie turned to his familiar. “It’s not like that!”

Archie scanned him over. “You keep telling that to yourself for the last three hundred years and I’m sick of it.”

Douxie covered his face to hide his blush. “Not like that, Archie…”

“Aw….” Morgana finally put down her book. “Little Douxie has a lover. They grow up so fast, don’t they, Merlin?”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “Seriously, the pink haired one?” He looked away. “You could do better than her…”

“Guys, please!” Douxie held up his hands. “It’s not like that. We are just friends! We have been friends for a _really long time_ and that’s it.”

“Your heart says otherwise, young wizard.” Nari spoke for the first time. The wizards turned to look at her. The little goddess had not taken her eyes off the TV. “I feel every soul on this planet. Yours gets really fuzzy when you’re near her.”

Morgana smirked. “I like you.” Douxie frowned at her. Traitors. All of them.

The door suddenly opened and there stood Zoe with a new microwave under her arm and a spare key on the other. She stared at Merlin, he stared at her. She glared at Merlin, he glared at her.

“Hey, Douxie. Got you your microwave.”

“Zoe! You’re here!” Douxie looked between Merlin and Zoe for a moment and decided that breaking the tension was better than letting it linger for a moment longer. He grabbed the new microwave and welcomed her inside. “I hope it wasn’t a bother?”

“It’s Saturday, the stores are full, and I was lucky to get a day off today.” She crossed her arms. “Why bring the entitled Arthurian tool bag here, anyway?”

“Zoe, we talked about it over the phone.”

“Well-“

“Hello! You must be Zoe. It is quite the pleasure to meet you.” Morgana extended her hand to the younger girl, who wearily took it.

“The pleasure is mine, I guess…” Said Zoe.

"Hello! I'm Nari of the Enchanted Forest!"

"Nice to meet you." Zoe smiled. “Still nicer than the entitled Arthurian tool bag.”

“Watch it, child. You don’t know who you’re speaking with.” Merlin warned.

“You don’t scare me, old man!”

“Why, you little—"

“Hey! Let’s watch a movie or something, ok?” Douxie tried to break the tension.

Nari watched from her position on the floor, unmoving. She felt every soul on this planet. She knew the struggles each soul faced, their connections, their loved ones. A smile creeped on his face and turned to Archie. “How long have they known each other?”

OOO

Zoe spent the rest of the day in Douxie’s apartment helping him explain modern stuff to the wizards. It wasn’t that fun and not a productive way to spend her day off, but she got to spend some time with Douxie. It was nice to know that he was close to her and not dead somewhere near the ruins of Camelot. She glanced at him while he explained modern currencies to Merlin and Morgana. He truly was a patient teacher. She, otherwise, would have smacked both legendary wizards in the head.

He was so calm, so kind in his nature.

He was the first good thing that ever happened to her. She didn’t want to ruin it.


	5. Pretty and Punk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgana and Merlin are taken to shop for more modern clothes. Nari likes Jell-O.

Claire waited at the entrance of the Douxie’s book shop. When she said she wanted to give Morgana a second chance, this was NOT what she meant.

Shopping.

“Not that I’m not delighted to spend time with you, Claire bear, but why are we here again?” Mary asked as she texted on her phone.

“I know you’ve said something about some ancient witch and reintroducing her to society.” Darcy mentioned.

At first, she though it would be a good idea to spend time with her friends and bring Morgana out. Kill two bird with one stone and all that. But now she was worried her friends will be a bit too much for Morgana to handle and vice versa.

“Yes, Morgana.” Her friends looked up with wide eyes. She might have left that tiny detail out. Oops.

“The murderous hoe? The witch that possessed you? The woman that tried to bring an apocalypse to Arcadia? THAT Morgana!?” Darci yelled.

“Yes…”

“Claire bear, what were you thinking!?” Mary copped Claire’s face on her hands. “Are you sure you are not possessed right now? Tell me something only the real Claire will know!”

Claire grabbed Mary’s hand and pushed them away. “You stick chewed bubble gum under Señor Uhl’s truck and have never been caught.”

“Ok, it’s you.”

Claire sighed. “Guys. I know what she did and she’s sorry about everything. She even helped us defeat the Arcane Order and she stopped King Arthur.”

Darci and Mary looked at each other and then back at her. “Claire…” Darci started. “We are just worried about you.”

“Yeah, we love you!”

Claire smiled. She truly missed them. “You guys.”

“Lady Claire!”

Claire turned to see Douxie walking towards her with a bright smile on his face. Today he ditched the usual black jacket and when with a short-sleeved hood, showing off his tattooed arms. Darci and Mary sighed at the sight of him. Mary drooled a bit at his muscles. Darci, however, quickly slapped herself. “Focus, Darci. You have a wonderful boyfriend and his name is Toby. He treats you like a QUEEN. No sexy ancient wizards for you!” She mumbled to herself.

Mary, however, elbowed Claire. “Is he single?”

Claire rolled her eyes. “Hey, Douxie!”

“I am sorry for pestering you. But I really need to get Morgana out of that apartment.”

“It’s ok, I get it. You’re not doing this alone, remember?”

Douxie smiled at her. “I know.”

“Your texts sounded a bit frantic last night. Care to explain?”

Douxie scratched the back of his head. “Well…”

_Flashback:_

_Before Douxie knew it, Zoe had introduced the ancient wizards to a game of Monopoly. Whether she did on purpose or not, he may never find out. It was probably to spite Merlin. She and Morgana teamed up against Merlin while Nari watched in awe from the sidelines. Archie apparently had decided to keep out of it this time._

_Morgana lost, that was fine by her._

_Merlin, however, lost to Zoe and lit the board game on fire._

_It didn’t end well, for anyone._

_Monopoly is now banned from Douxie’s apartment._

_End of Flashback_

Claire shoved her phone to her friend’s face. “It says here HELP THE APARTMENT IS ON FIRE! Then you wrote, NEVERMIND, NO ONE GOT KILLED.” She put the phone back on her pocket. “I am going to get worried; you know. Are you sure they’re not a _bit_ too much?”

He laughed. “Sorry, sorry. Panic texting. It won’t happen again. And no, I can take it.”

Mary grabbed Claire back and whispered to her ear. “You have his phone number!? Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“Mary!”

Douxie shuffled his weight from one foot to the other. “Morgana should be down any minute now.”

“Great! I have some savings-“

“No need.” Douxie interrupted her. “Merlin and Morgana have their own savings, love. All we had to do was change it to modern currency. I took care on explaining payment methods last night, so don’t worry.”

“How did you—nevermind, magic.”

“Magic.” He confirmed. Then, he frowned. “Just one thing. She still doesn’t have a hand prothesis on just yet. She might need a bit of help carrying things.”

Darci spoked up. “Wait, she lost a hand?”

Douxie turned to her. “It’s a long story. But just a word of warning, she keeps trying to hide her arm.”

“So, she’s ashamed?” Claire asked. Just then, the door to the bookstore opened and Morgana emerged. “We’ll talk about it later.”

As Claire walked over to Morgana to greet her, Mary and Darci stayed behind. “She looks…”

“Less menacing and less murderous outside of armor?”

“Not my exact thoughts, but it works.” Darci said.

“She’s really pretty, though.”

“Well….” Douxie said as Claire and Morgana walked back to the group. “I have to go. I’m taking care of Merlin’s social skills and clothing today. If we have time, I’ll show him around the park.”

“Wait, and Nari?” Claire asked.

“She’s coming with us. Merlin doesn’t want to keep her out of his sight and for good reason. I’ll see you around, ladies. Take care! Remember the meeting tonight!” The younger master wizard went back inside the bookstore, leaving Morgana to the girls.

Mary decided that now it was the time for questions. “Claire! You didn’t answer the important question! IS. HE. SINGLE?”

“Mary! I don’t know! But you can’t just go around asking me stuff like that in front of him and much less Morgana!” Claire groaned. “Besides, he’s 900 years your senior.”

Mary stayed quiet for a moment and smirked. “Aged like fine wine, then.”

“Ugh…” Darci groaned. Morgana tried to hide her giggles.

“Ok! OK! Enough about Douxie. Mary, please keep it together.” Said Claire. “Girls, this is Morgana. Morgana, this is Mary, and this is Darci.”

Awkward silence.

Claire gave them a nervous smile. “Great! Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get moving! To the mall!”

OOO

Douxie walked back to his apartment where Archie, Merlin and Nari were waiting for him around the dining table eating breakfast. A breakfast courtesy of Jim, bless his soul. Seriously, that boy needed to open a restaurant or something. “I swear, I’ll hang around the Lake residency more often if I get to eat like this!” Archie savored his omelet with baked salmon on the side.

“Alright, Morgana is off with the girls. Ready to go out?” Said the young master wizard as he removed his hood.

“Yep!” Said Nari. “Do I need a disguise? Humans around here seem to be comfortable enough around the magical ones…”

“Well… I guess it’s fine. You be you.”

Merlin sighed. “Why are we doing this again?” He stood up with a bit of a struggle but managed. His injury seemed to be getting better.

It was Douxie’s turn to sigh. “Because you can’t go around in that armor all day and I have the weekend off, so it’s the only time we have to do this.”

“Very well. Let’s get to it, then.”

It wasn’t long before they reached a store that sold gentleman clothes that Douxie thought Merlin will at least find acceptable. Sure, the mall had been an option, but Archie reminded him that Merlin could be quite the… _asshole_ , therefore, a place filled with people wouldn’t really be the best choice. Until Merlin learned to control his mouth in the modern world, small stores it was. Besides, Douxie found that small stores were the best places to find unique things.

Nari had found a small seat and proceeded to climb on it along with Archie while Douxie helped Merlin pick clothes. The cashier looked up from his magazine, saw a wizard in armor, shrugged and went back to reading.

“What is this supposed to be?” Said Merlin as he held up sunglasses. Douxie sighed. This was going to be a bit difficult.

“Sunglasses. They cover your eyes from the sun rays.” Douxie took the pair and put them on himself. “See? They’re quite stylish as well.”

They spend a good hour with Merlin trying out clothes and it convinced Douxie of one thing: Merlin had pretty good taste in formal clothing. The old wizard just rolled his eyes and kept choosing. He wasn’t really that impressed. At the end, Merlin sported a brown newsboy cap, matching brown vest with a long-sleeved button up shirt, dress pants and dress shoes. And aviator sunglasses for good measure, Douxie had insisted on them. The staff of Avalon rested undetected as a watch.

“Looking good, master!”

“Not a bad choice of attire, I dare say.”

Nari gave him a thumbs up.

“Maybe we should head back to the apartment, leave everything and get something to eat. My treat.” Said Douxie. “We’ll go to the café I work in.”

A quick stop at the apartment and they found themselves at the café drinking tea and coffee. In Douxie’s opinion, the day so far wasn’t as eventful as he imagined it would be—

“What the bloody hell is this thing?” Exclaimed Merlin as he and Nari poked at a plate of Jell-O. Archie facepalmed. “I am not eating something that moves!” He exclaimed.

“I’ll eat it if you don’t want it!” Nari took the plate and a spoon started eating the dessert.

Nevermind.

He wondered how the girls were doing…

OOO

The mall was… Morgana wasn’t sure what she was expecting. She expected some village marketplace, not a giant building with hundreds of stores of all types and much more.

“You ok, Morgana?” Claire asked.

“Yes, just… a bit overwhelmed. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“You’ve never seen a MALL!?” Mary asked/yelled. She gasped. “That’s it. You poor, unfortunate soul. I don’t care how murderous you were in the past. No girl left behind! I’m taking charge of the stores we are going and technology. Darci, shoes, accessories and hairdo. Claire, clothes and anything else she might need. Are we all clear?”

The girls nodded.

“Let’s go!” Mary and Darci hurried to the first store.

“What’s going on?” Morgana asked. Claire laughed.

“Come on.” They walked. “I know they are a bit too much sometimes, but trust me, deciding to take charge on what we are going to do today, means they’re warming up to you.”

“I see.” Morgana mumbled. She unconsciously tried to hide her left arm as people passed by. Claire seemed to notice this and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry about your hand, Morgana. Many people have disabilities and they live normal lives. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Morgana sighed and looked away. “I know, it’s… it’s just…” The circumstances of her missing hand were left unsaid.

Claire smiled. Bless her soul. “It takes time to adapt. You’re not alone.” She grabbed her right hand and pulled her towards the store the girls had walked into earlier. “Besides, today it’s about you!”

“Well, then…” Morgana said with a more confident voice. “Let’s get to it!”

Store after store and Morgana’s head was going in circles. She was too overwhelmed by everything. It was all so new, so different. But at the same time, she was having fun. Claire had been nothing but a dear to her and her friends had quickly forgotten about her being some evil ancient witch. For which, she was glad at the moment, they seemed like nice girls to pass the time with.

The teenagers made sure the former royal of Camelot had everything she needed. From pajamas to everyday clothes, to shoes to accessories, and everything in between. Mary made sure she had a phone. Claire made sure she could understand how to use one, which was simple, really. Darci introduced her to ice cream.

“That doesn’t fit you.”

“Sooooo not your color!”

“Try something classier.”

In truth, she was getting tired of everything not looking so great on her, but she finally found an outfit that went well with her. A long-sleeved white blouse, skinny jeans and complete with tall brown boots and brown leather jacket.

“What about this?” She asked.

“PERFECT!” The trio yelled in delight.

After an eventful morning, they all sat down in the food court to drink smoothies. “So, Morgana. Is Douxie your little brother or something?” Mary asked.

“No, but we were both apprentices to Merlin. I might consider him one.”

“IS. HE. SINGLE?”

“Mary!” Claire yelled. “Don’t you dare!”

“I’m just asking the important questions!”

‘ _So much blackmail material against Douxie._ ’ Morgana smiled. “Unfortunately, he has his eyes set on another girl.”

“Aaaawwww….” Mary moaned. “Finders keepers, I guess…” She looked up in time to see a brown-haired boy with tight jeans walking towards them. “Oh no…”

“What?” Claire asked, but the boy had already reached the table.

“Hello, ladies.”

Darci and Mary groaned. Claire rolled her eyes. “Tight Jeans Hank. You have quite the nerve to show up.”

Hank rolled his eyes. “I saw my girlfriend here and decided to come by. Mary, can we talk?”

“No.” Mary looked away. “Leave me alone, we’re done!”

“Mary—”

Darci placed a hand on Mary’s shoulder and pulled her back. “She said no, are you deaf? No one asked you to cheat on her!”

“Look, I’m—”

“Is this… **_stable boy_** bothering you, Mary?” Morgana gently placed her smoothie on the table and turned to look at the teen.

Hank frowned. “Hey, lady, don’t poke your nose at our business. Same with you two!” He pointed at Claire and Darci. Claire’s irises started glowing a bit purple.

“Leave my friend alone!”

Hank attempted to grab Mary by the arm. “Look, I’m trying to say I’m sorry—”

“Let me go!”

“ENOUGH!” Morgana extended her hand at the boy and levitated him about two feet from the ground. The act of magic attracted the attention of nearby costumers.

“Hey, put me down— AHHHH!” He gave a high-pitched scream. Claire stared with wide eyes, Darci gasped and Mary had a small smile on her face. Bystanders winced.

Morgana had given him the mother of **wedgies**.

She stood tall and collected in her posture. “I see you bothering these girls again and I swear on my brother’s tomb that your punishment won’t be so merciful. Take it as a warning.” She calmly stated. “Are we clear?”

Hank nodded as a few tears ran down his cheeks.

“Are. We. Clear?”

“Yyy—yes, ma’am!”

“Good.” Said Morgana. “Now begone, **_peasant_**!” As soon as Hank was let go, he ran off screaming, swearing on his life he will never set eyes on Mary or her friends again. The Eldritch Queen calmly sat down and resumed her smoothie, oblivious to the surprised, scared and interested stares of Arcadia’s citizens.

“Ok, everyone!” Claire turned to them. “Nothing to see here! Just regular Arcadia weirdness, thank you!” The crowd seemed to buy it and resumed their merry way.

Mary turned to Morgana. “Morgana, I – Thank you!”

“It wasn’t a problem, really. I hate it when men think of a woman as a property.” Said she. “And I come from a time that happened quite often.”

The girls smiled at each other. Maybe Morgana wasn’t that bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review!


	6. Hand me a Hand

The feeling that something wasn’t quite right hadn’t left Krel. Not one bit. He may not understand everything that went through with the wizards, but he knew Arcadia wasn’t safe and that worried him. A lot. Why does the end of the world always follow him?

He looked down at his creation with satisfaction. Good thing that magic and Akaridian technology were compatible. He took out his phone and sent a quick text to Douxie.

**_Krel:_ ** _Project ‘Hand me Down’ is completed._

**_Douxie_ ** _: (typing)_

**_Douxie_ ** _: What kind of name is that?_

**_Krel:_ ** _Seemed funny. You know, a prosthetic hand for your murderous witch friend? Get it?_

**_Douxie_ ** _: Yes, funny. I didn’t know you had a sense of dark humor._

**_Krel_ ** _: Forget it. When do I bring it?_

**_Douxie_ ** _: (typing)_

**_Douxie_ ** _: We are gathering at the bookstore tonight to discuss wards and defenses. You can bring it then. At night fall._

**_Krel_ ** _: Great! I’ll just hand her the new hand. XD_

**_Douxie_ ** _: …_

**_Douxie_ ** _: I’m shutting off my phone now._

**_Krel:_ ** _It was funny! Douxie!_

But the boy didn’t answer back. Krel groaned. “Some people don’t have a sense of humor. Ay, ay, ay…” He looked down at the blue and black prosthetic in front of him. He frowned at it. “You better come _in handy_ , you heard me?” Obviously, there was no comment from the hand, but Krel laughed, nonetheless.

OOO

“I’ll see you girls around!” Claire waved at Darci and Mary as they parted ways.

“We have to go to the movies next time!” Darci said. “I’m sure Morgana will like to watch one.”

Morgana smiled. “That will be lovely, dear.”

“Bye! Thanks for standing up to me!” Mary yelled from across the street.

Morgana and Claire waved back until the girls were out of sight. Claire sighed. “That was a fun day. It’s still early, how about we leave your stuff at the apartment, get something to eat and come back for the meeting?”

“That will be—”

“There you are!” Douxie stepped out of the book shop. “I thought I heard something about going out to eat?”

“Yeah! You want to join?”

Douxie scratched his head. “We ordered Chinese. I was going to invite you two.”

“I think we can leave it for another day, right Morgana?”

“Of course.”

The bookstore was full of light and had a homey atmosphere. To Morgana, it felt more like Camelot, like home. It had a striking similarity to the library she often visited when she was Merlin’s apprentice. Over the cash register counter laid two bags full of Chinese food. Merlin and Nari sat on the couches at the far corner, surrounded with books and food.

“That style suits you well.” Morgana mentioned.

“I could say the same for you, Morgana.” Said Merlin. He turned to look at Claire. “Fair Lady Claire, what a surprise.”

“Merlin…” Don’t blame her if she was still bitter about him wanting to leave Jim behind. “Nice vest.”

“Thank you.” The wizard hadn’t, apparently, registered her lack of enthusiasm for his presence.

Dinner was quiet for the most part. Mostly talking about how their days went, the mall and the wedgie incident with Morgana, to which Douxie begged for a video. Unfortunately, Claire didn’t have any. Nari spoke about their missed opportunity to go to the park and made Douxie promise to take her soon.

Nothing too exciting, but it was delicious, nonetheless. Then, as night started to fall, one by one, the defenders of Arcadia started to arrive. First it was Jim and Toby, who greeted everyone with homemade pastries, courtesy of Jim. Merlin had taken a quick, saddened glance at Jim before looking away, only Nari had taken notice. Then, Blinky and Arrgghh arrived along with Steve.

“Cool tattoos, bro!” Steve commented on Douxie’s tattoos.

“Thanks, mate.” Said Douxie. “Alright, I think this is everyone. Wait, no. Has anyone seen Krel?”

Toby raised his hand. “He texted me and said that he was running late. He had a bit of a _handy_ problem. Whatever that means.”

Douxie facepalmed. It appeared that Krel was not going to leave those jokes any time soon. He prayed that he didn’t mention anything to Morgana. He was not ready to deal with that. “Alright, I think we can wait for him a bit.”

“Why?” Merlin asked. “We can just start without him.”

Toby glared at him. “Hey, man! First, nice style. I think all British guys have it in them. Second, that’s a prince you’re talking about!”

“King in waiting, you mean!” Krel yelled as he stumbled through the bookstore doors in his original form. He tried to balance some weird, blue looking box. “Sorry, I’m late.” He turned to Douxie. “The thing you asked me to build was _giving_ me a _handy_ time.”

“Please stop. Those are terrible jokes.” He took the box from the alien. “Thank you.” He turned to Morgana. “Here you go.”

Morgana stared back in shock. “What? For me?”

“Yep.” Said Douxie. “I had Krel design it for you. Apparently, Akaridian tech and magic go very well together.”

Morgana opened the box and gasped. Douxie smiled. “You can’t really help building the ward with one hand, can you?”

“I… Douxie…”

Blinky leaned closer to Arrgghh and whispered. “Are we sure we should trust her after everything?”

Arrrggh smiled. “Arrrgghh evil once. Blinky helped. Second chances.”

Blinky sighed. “You’re right, old friend. As often as you are.” He glanced back at the Eldritch Queen as she tried the new black and blue hand. “Although, it would not hurt to keep an eye on her, if you know what I mean.”

Morgana stared at her new hand in shock. “I can actually move it?” She twisted the prosthetic; it felt like she had a whole new hand.

Krel rolled his eyes. “That was just a walk in the park for me. Do I add a cannon too?”

“No, Krel. Thank you.” Said Douxie as he fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Alright, now that we have that out of the way, Merlin, if you please.”

Merlin cleared his throat as he stood. “As you know, I created a ward around Arcadia that is currently keeping away the Arcane Order. During my quick recovery, Hisirdoux and I spoke on uniting our magics to keep the ward ongoing for as long as we need it to. Morgana’s raw magic can--“

“—come in _handy_ , I know.” Krel interrupted.

“KREL!” Everybody groaned.

“What!? She’s even smiling and she’s the one missing a hand! You don’t see her screaming at me! Ay, ay, ay…” True to his word, Morgana was indeed smiling.

“Still not cool, bro!” Steve threw a pastry at him. Krel just caught it an ate it.

“As I was saying…” Merlin continued. “Morgana’s magic can power the ward, while Hisirdoux and I keep it afloat.”

Jim raised his hand.

“Yes, trollhunter?”

“There’s a catch, isn’t it?”

Merlin sighed. “Unfortunately, yes.”

Toby threw himself over Jim, making him almost spill the remaining pastries. “WE ARE NOT SACRIFING JIMBO AGAIN, YOU CRUSTY OLD DUDE!!!”

“What—No, Tobias!” Merlin yelled. “We are not sacrificing anyone!”

“Oh, ok. Sorry, Jim.”

“It’s ok.” Jim felt a bit relieved he wasn’t going to be forced to do something.

“I meant, if you let me explain—”

“We are sacrificing a lamb, then?”

“KREL!” The alien prince felt everyone’s glare on him.

“What? I was reading that some human cultures—”

Claire placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “We don’t do that anymore.”

“Oh.” Krel said. “Can we sacrifice Steve, then?”

“Dude!”

Merlin sighed. “I can’t do this. Hisirdoux, you explain.”

“Finally, someone we will like to hear speak…” Steve mumbled. Merlin glared at him but said nothing.

Douxie sighed. “The catch is that we can’t leave Arcadia. None of us three or the ward goes down. And we must plan something to defeat the Arcane Order. They’re not going to stop until they get to Nari and neither are we.”

“Ah, brings me memories from the French revolution.” Archie jumped over the counter in cat form and turned to the group. No one decided to question the cat on the revolution thing. “Arcadia has a large signature of magic that can serve as a back up for the ward in case something happens. Am I right, Merlin?”

“Indeed. But the trouble there is that the magical signature came from the heart stone, which is gone.”

Morgana’s eyes grew wide and looked down at her new hand. Douxie sighed. “Alright, so no fail-safe.”

“Forgive me for interrupting.” Blinky said. “But I must return to New Jersey to oversee New Troll Market. I’m afraid I’m been away for too long and the trolls might get, ugh, violent.”

“More like panicked.” Claire said as she stood up. “I’ll open the portal. Do you need to go now?”

“As soon as necessary, yes. I’m sure you all have everything under control here.”

Jim turned to Blinky. “I’ll go with you.”

“No need, Master Jim! I’ll explain everything to the trolls. You stay here and rest. I’ll contact you soon.” He hugged the boy. “Do not feel responsible, you’ve done enough, my boy.”

Douxie smiled. “Then it’s settled. Blinky will return to New Jersey while we—wait.” He looked around.

“What’s wrong, Douxie?” Claire asked.

“Where’s Morgana?”


	7. Stone Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgana is desperate for redemption and seeks to do something risky. 
> 
> Barbara is done with the wizards.

Morgana flew as fast as she could towards the entrance under Arcadia bridge. Using her magic, she forced open the entrance of the underground community and quickly descended the crystal stairs.

Her mind drifted back to the conversation in the bookstore. The trolls were left without a home, forced to travel thousands of miles to find a new home…

… all because of her.

If she had never joined forces with Gunmar or tried to bring forth the Eternal Night, none of this would have happened. But there was no point in thinking of her past mistakes, she was going to fix them.

As she went deeper into Troll Market, she encountered zombie Gumm-Gumms, which she destroyed with ease. She jumped over fallen concrete but tripped over a stone. She pushed herself back up and turned to look at the stone, only to find it was the hand of a deceased troll. She gasped. She had done that, she remembered. But she had to fix her mistake, she had to.

Finally, she reached the Heartstone. It was stone cold when she placed her right hand over its surface. “I’m so, so very sorry…” She felt a flicker of life inside of it, but not too much. She frowned. “It’s my burden to bear.” She placed both hands on the stone’s surface and released a powerful shot of magic.

OOO

“I can’t believe she went off!” Douxie yelled as he facepalmed himself.

Toby shrugged. “I don’t know. How much can I bet that she went crazy again?” He glared at Krel. “She’s got both hands now, thanks to someone!”

“Don’t look at me!” Krel held up all four hands. “It was his idea!” He pointed at Douxie.

“I just wanted to help her!” Douxie argued.

“She’s nuts, man!” Toby yelled.

“She needs help!”

“Guys, she probably went upstairs.” Claire reasoned. “Have you checked yet?”

Just on time, Archie flew down the stairs. “Nope, she’s not in the apartment.”

“Great!” Douxie groaned. “She could be anywhere!”

As the trolls, wizards, humans and one alien argued with each other, Jim stood in the far corner of the bookstore in deep thought. He had been eyeing Morgana during the whole meeting. She had looked quite conflicted with herself. But Toby had jumped over him to protect him, but when his friend moved over, he had noticed Morgana quietly slip to the back. He had assumed that she had gone to the restroom or something, so he hadn’t thought much of it. But when Douxie questioned her disappearance, everything started to fall in order.

Claire had mentioned that Morgana seemed to have a pretty bad guilt complex, though she wasn’t a therapist, it was obvious. No one else had really noticed because no one really gave Morgana a second thought, just the stink eye if she looked suspicious. Maybe Douxie was the only one aside from Claire that was being kind to her.

Then they had talked about the heart stone and Blinky mentioning the trolls’ homelessness and it clicked.

“She went to Troll Market!”

The arguing around him stopped and everyone turned to look at him. Jim sighed. “Morgana, she went to Troll Market.”

“Why would she do that? There is nothing there, no power, no Heartstone, nothing.” Said Merlin.

Jim looked at Claire. “Claire mentioned she seemed to have some sort of guilt complex. She was partly responsible for everything that went down on the Eternal Night and she fought for magical rights in the past… She probably feels guilty that the trolls had to abandon Arcadia for a new home.” Jim looked at Merlin. “Do you know where I’m going with this?”

Merlin thought for a moment and his eyes wide. “She’s… Oh, no.” He facepalmed. “Dammit, Morgana…”

“I think she’s trying to revive the Heartstone.”

OOO

Morgana gasped. She probably had miscalculated the amount of power she would have to use. Her plan was simple: Get in, revive the Heartstone, get out, back to the bookstore, no one the wiser. By the time they noticed the stone was alive, the ward would be up and there would be an extra safety for the trolls.

She probably overestimated herself.

She pushed more power into the stone. The Heartstone started to glow a bright orange.

OOO

Douxie and the rest of the group stepped through the shadow portal Claire conjured and made their way to the Troll Market.

“If Morgana finishes, she’ll be helpless on building that ward!” Merlin shouted.

“Dude!” Toby yelled. “Are you really worried about that right now!?”

“Do you want the Arcane Order to gut you, fatty!?”

“Dude! You have questionable morals—"

“Enough, you two!” Jim got in the middle of them with a large stick in his hand as a weapon just in case. “We’ll deal with this later, let’s go!” He ran down the crystal staircase.

Merlin and Toby glared at each other. “Truce?”

“Truce.” Merlin summoned his staff and they ran off, only to encounter zombie Gumm-Gumms. Krel gasped.

“I thought we had gotten rid of these guys!”

“You were here!?” Blinky yelled as he knocked out a zombie with a baseball bat.

“Long story!”

Douxie had ran off towards the Heartstone. He felt the ground shaking as he ran closer. “Archie!” He called up. “Can you see her!?”

“She’s right there!” Archie pointed towards the center of the market.

Douxie ran towards her. Her back towards him. “Morgana! What are you doing!?”

“What do you… Agh! What do you think I’m doing!?” She was in pain, Douxie could tell.

“Morgana! I know that you feel guilty, but this is pushing yourself too far!” He stepped closer.

Morgana cried. “You don’t know what is like to have guilt eat you from the inside!” He could hear her sniffs. Her shoulders trembled. “Those poor trolls are homeless because of ME!”

“Gunmar was the one who destroyed the Heartstone-!”

“He’s dead!” She exclaimed. “The only other person alive for the blame to befall on is me!”

Douxie stared at her. He could hear the rest of the gang draw nearer to their location. He looked at the Heartstone; it shone a bit brighter than before. Maybe…

“Douxie!” Archie exclaimed. “What are you doing!?”

Douxie had stepped next to Morgana and placed his hands over the stone. Morgana stared at him for the first time. Her eyes glowed yellow with power. “I never listened anyway, did I?” Then his eyes and his arm tattoos glowed blue as he let his own magic join Morgana’s in restoring life to the Heartstone.

Merlin and the others stopped at the steps of the stone. Toby, Jim and Claire stared in shock while Steve, Nari, Krel, Arrgghh and Blinky fought off the last Gumm-Gumm zombies. Merlin frowned. “What are you two doing!?”

“Reviving the Heartstone!” Douxie yelled back.

“What does it look like we’re doing? Waltzing?” Morgana commented.

“That is a rather risky— _Fair Lady Claire_!!!” Merlin called to Claire who stood next to Morgana and gave her own magic to the heart stone, eyes glowing black and purple.

“If there’s a chance that the trolls can go back home, I’ll take it!”

Merlin stared at the three wizards before him. The Heartstone started to glow a bright orange, but it wasn’t enough. What they were doing, reminded him of himself from long ago. He sighed and willed his staff back into a watch.

“Oh, sod it all…” He stood next to Douxie and gave his own magic to the stone, irises glowing green. Douxie gave his master a warm smile, one that Merlin returned.

Toby gasped as Jim looked around him. All stone of all kinds were starting to regain their former glow, the Gumm-Gumm Zombies were starting to deteriorate due to the amount of life. They weren’t meant for that. Lights shone across the Troll Market, restoring it to its former glory. The Heartstone emitted such a warm glow and all the sudden, the wizards were blasted away from the stone. It glowed with such splendor that Blinky fell to his knees and brought his four arms over his heart. “Home…” He whispered. “Oh…” Arrgghh brought an arm over his friend’s shoulders in comfort, a big smile written on his face.

Steve, Nari and Krel looked around. “Toby was right, it is beautiful.” Krel whispered.

Archie nagged at Douxie’s shirt, making the young master wizard push himself to a sitting position. As he rubbed a bump on his head, he looked around and smiled. “I’ve never been here, but by Blinky’s face, I can tell this is how it’s supposed to look like.” He rubbed Archie’s ear.

“You brave, foolish boy…” The cat whispered.

Claire sat up as Jim and Toby hugged her. “Guys…” Toby whispered. “The trolls can go back home!”

“Yeah, and it’s all thanks to Morg—” Claire brought a hand to her mouth.

Jim frowned. “Claire, you look a little gre—”

Claire leaned to the side and puked. Jim held her hair and rubbed circles on her back while Toby was grossed out. Either way, he reached to his pocket and handed her a napkin.

Merlin sat up and looked at the newly restored Heartstone. It seemed that one thing that had not withered in time was Morgana’s compassion for the magical kind. He stood alert. “Where is Morgana!?” He turned to find the sorceress’s body laid on the ground not too far away from him. He ran to her and turned her around. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell she was in pain. Memories overflooded him, from a time when he raised Arthur to become the king he was meant to be and little Morgana… from a time when they were simply children.

_“Merlin! Look! I have found a ruby!”_

_It had been a summer day and Merlin had ventured to the Enchanted Forest along with a young Morgana. A tiny thing, she was, barely reaching his waist. She had insisted on coming along with him; he was looking for precious stones for some potions._

_He knew she just wanted to see Vendel._

_“A good find, young one!” Vendel of Dwoza inspected the ruby she had found. “A ruby is perfect for bending fire to your will. With the proper training of course.”_

_Merlin had rolled his eyes but stared with affection at the child. Vendel was the only troll that willingly interacted with Merlin. “Although, this one is too small for the potion I want to make.” He mentioned. Morgana’s eyes saddened. “Oh…” But Merlin never wanted to see her sad. “But it is a good find, as Vendel said. You could keep it, with Vendel’s permission of course.” It had quickly brightened her. “Really!?”_

_Merlin had always been a bit hard on Morgana and Arthur. They had a destiny to fulfill. But Morgana was fascinated with anything magical and he couldn’t help but pamper her, even just a little. Her eyes were bright, full of innocence to the cruel world around her. Eyes full of hunger for knowledge, for love, for compassion. Eyes full of kindness for those around her._

Merlin blinked. When had those times stayed behind? When they just enjoyed what the world had to offer stopped? Where did he messed up?

Morgana groaned a bit and slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes, unlike when she was a child, now were dull, full of misery and sadness. She slowly sat up.

“Why did you do it, Morgana?” Merlin whispered. "You could have hurt yourself."

Morgana’s eyes watered. “Because… because…” She threw herself into Merlin’s arms, taking the master wizard by surprise. She wailed and cried and sobbed. “Because it’s my fault!” She sobbed. “It’s my fault… Everything is! I could have done better!” She cried. “I let down everyone and people died because of me! I’M **MONSTER**!!! EVERYONE IS BETTER OFF WITHOUT ME!!!”

The group looked at the sad scene before them. Jim sighed. He knew. He knew the feeling that he could have done better. Claire and Toby stepped closer to Jim; Claire covered her mouth as her eyes watered. Nari, who felt each soul in this room, stared sadly. The turmoil of Morgana’s soul unbearable to feel. Douxie let a few tears fall and hugged Archie. Krel, Aarrrgghh and Blinky looked down with defeated gazes.

Steve looked away, the scene before him was like staring into a mirror.

“I’m sorry….” She whispered between sobs. “I’m so, so sorry…” She buried her face into Merlin’s chest, seeking comfort she thought she didn’t deserve. “I should be dead…” The whisper barely audible to anyone except the master wizard.

Merlin held her gently and rested his cheek against her head. For a moment, he vividly remembered a little redheaded girl running happily in the Enchanted Forest. He could only think of one thing:

_‘Where did my innocent, joyful girl went?’_

OOO

“YOU WIZARDS ARE THE BANE OF MY EXISTANCE!” Barbara Lake shouted at Merlin, Claire, Douxie and Morgana, only to get a collective reprimand from Doctor Barbara Lake for being so reckless. She was nursing a cup of tea with a blanket thrown over her shoulders while Claire was sitting next to her with a bucket between her legs. Apparently, the excessive amount of magic she had used was beyond of what she could currently handle and made her a bit nauseous. Douxie had an ice pack on his top of his head while Merlin… well. He seemed fine, on the outside of course. On the inside, he was developing a fear for angry doctors.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH STRESS ALL OF YOU PUT ME THROUGH!? THIS ISN’T A FREE CLINC, YOU KNOW! IN FACT, WHY DON’T I JUST OPEN A MAGICAL CLINIC HERE IN MY HOUSE!? WHAT YOU DID, NO MATTER WHAT THE INTENTIONS WERE, WAS RISKY AND UNSAFE!!!” The doctor continued. Clearly, she had enough.

Steve, Krel, Blinky and Arrrgghh had all gone away for the time being, so the only ones in the Lake living room were Jim, Toby, Archie, the wizards and Nari, who was currently drinking a fruit smoothie made by Jim. She was an angel and didn’t anything wrong, in Barbara’s words. Strickler had long gone into the kitchen to feed baby Walter.

Jim and Toby looked at each other. They knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of Barbara’s lectures and could only pity them.

“That would be a splendid idea—” Merlin started.

Jim’s eyes widened. “Merlin, no…” He whispered.

“YOU SHUT IT! YOU’RE THE LAST PERSON I LIKE IN THIS ROOM!!!” Barbara’s attention was fully on the ancient wizard now. Jim winced. Merlin had just signed his death sentence.

Merlin seemed to take offense to that. “In my defense—”

“—DID I **_FUCKING_** STUTTER!?”

Silence.

Strickler, who was at that moment had walked into the living room, did a half turn and returned to the kitchen with baby Walter. If Barbara was chewing them out, the changeling did NOT want to be part of that.

Merlin decided it was best to sit down and look away. Douxie, Claire and Morgana looked down, afraid to meet Barbara’s eyes. If someone could shut Merlin up like that and live to tell the tale, they couldn’t imagine what she would do to them. Archie curled himself over Jim’s lap. He looked over the scene before him with the superior gaze only a cat could manage. “Yes, chew them out…” He whispered.

Toby leaned closer to Jim. “Dude. She’s chewing them out. Should we help?”

“Are you nuts, Tobes!?” Jim whispered back.

“Your girlfriend is on the receiving end. Aren’t you going to help her?”

“Tobes, I would do anything for Claire. Anything. But if she’s being chewed out by mom, I am not going into that hellhole.”

Toby nodded. “Ok, seems fair.” He missed Claire’s small glare from across the room.

Barbara took a deep breath and sighed. “Ok, look. I am beyond happy that the trolls are returning home, but that was incredibly risky and stupid. You don’t need a wizard to tell you that.”

“Actually—” Merlin started, but one look from Barbara shut him up.

Barbara sighed. “None of you, and this goes for everyone, can save the world if you’re running on fumes. And you.” She looked at Morgana. The sorceress stared back. Barbara’s gaze saddened and lowered her voice. “You need a therapist. As a doctor, I’ll tell you that you’re demonstrating destructive behavior going off like that, possibly depression and trauma based on what I was told, and I can’t allow you to do that to yourself. You need a professional to help you deal with what you’re going through. So tomorrow, I myself will take you. No questions asked.”

Morgana nodded and looked down at her cup of tea. She tried not to cry. Having someone to help her sort off the demons inside her head sounded like a nice idea…

Douxie looked at Morgana with saddened eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Depression is a serious issue, people. If you need to talk to someone, there is no shame in seeking help from family, friends or a professional. 
> 
> I gave Morgana anxiety, guilt complex and depression. Her, a gorgeous and powerful woman that looks like she can take over the world (she almost did once, though) is in need of help as well. No one is immune. Know that there's always someone willing to help you.
> 
> Review!


	8. Master and Apprentices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Morgana is off to therapy, Merlin and Douxie have a normal conversation for once. Nari has a new found love for ice cream. Archie just wants to sleep.

Barbara arrived early in the next morning to pick up Morgana and take her to a therapist. Douxie stared at the direction the car went off. He had known Morgana needed help, but he didn’t know she needed help this badly. If only…

“No, Douxie.” He told himself. “Thinking like that won’t solve any problems.” He adjusted his jacket and went back to the apartment. Merlin sat on the dining table reading some magic book Douxie didn’t bother to know about. Nari had discovered the magic of Netflix and Disney Plus, so Douxie figured they kind of lost her to the world of streaming services. Archie napped on the couch.

“Is Morgana off with Doctor Lake?” Merlin quietly asked. Douxie nodded. “Very well. I did a bit of research on what a therapist is. It will do her good.”

“I worry about her.”

Merlin glanced for a moment at his former student but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t the type of man to wear his heart on his sleeve.

Douxie sighed. “Now that the Heartstone is alive, it should serve as a backup for the ward, right?”

Merlin nodded. “Yes… it should.”

Douxie took a bottle of water from the fridge and sat down on the other side of the dining room. “Why didn’t you mention it earlier? About reviving the Heartstone?”

Merlin sighed and put away his book. “I don’t know.”

“What?”

“It didn’t occur to me.”

Douxie stared. “You, the greatest wizard of all time… it didn’t occur to you.”

“Nope.” Said Merlin.

Douxie glanced at his teacher for a moment. Merlin had the perfect poker face, but Douxie had been wondering the Earth for nine centuries. He had met thieves, murderers and all the bad kind of people. He knew a lair when he saw one.

“Don’t lie to my face, you coward.” He chuckled.

Merlin groaned. “Fine, it occurred to me. But I hadn’t said anything because bringing the trolls here could put them in danger as well. We will get protection from the Heartstone, sure, but it would bring more souls to face the danger of the Arcane Order.”

Douxie glanced at his wrist band. “I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

“Of course, you didn’t.”

Douxie glared. “But that would have been unfair to those poor trolls.” He shook his head. “This is their home. Sure, they could face a big danger here, but, when haven’t they? At the end of the day, they always fight for their home. I think Killahead proved that.”

Merlin said nothing. It baffled him, at times like this, when he saw how much Hisirdoux had grown in magic and in spirit. They stayed quiet for a few minutes, there wasn’t much that he needed saying. Then, Douxie started to laugh.

“What is it, Hisirdoux?”

“Doctor Lake managed to really scare you, didn’t she?”

“No, she didn’t!” He looked away.

“Yes, she did! Nari!” Douxie called.

The little demigoddess paused her movie and looked up. “Yes?”

“Is Merlin scared of Doctor Lake? Come on, you can feel people’s souls!”

Nari smiled. “He’s not scared.”

“See?” Merlin beamed.

“He’s frightened.” Nari giggled.

Merlin glared at Nari. “You little traitor, after everything I’ve done for you…”

Nari and Douxie laughed at the expense of the master wizard. Merlin frowned, crossed his arms and looked away. “I will deny it for the rest of my days.”

Douxie chuckled. “It’s fine. Your secret is safe with us.”

“Shut up!” Archie complained as he woke up. “I’m going to Douxie’s room to take a nap, a familiar can’t get one around here.” He went off and shut the door behind him.

Merlin turned to Douxie. “Why don’t we talk about you? Let’s talk about your poor choice of consort. That hair color is awful, to be honest.”

Douxie blushed. “Zoe? Uh, well…”

Nari had decided to join them on the dining table. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us.” She and Merlin laughed. Douxie hid his face behind his hands.

“I don’t like her.” Merlin complained.

“No shit, Sherlock…” Douxie mumbled, but Merlin elected to ignore him.

“Where did you met her?” Nari asked, excited for the story.

Douxie’s gaze landed on the table. “We… uh…” He bit his lip. “We met a long time ago and…” He sighed. “We didn’t meet under the best circumstances. It’s not a story I like to tell. Maybe another day, when I’m ready…”

Nari grabbed his hand, a sign of silent comfort. Merlin looked down. If Hisirdoux didn’t want to tell, it was fine. He himself had stories too frightening to share with anyone.

“We should reinforce the ward with your magic. Now that Morgana is off with the therapist, maybe it is best to get this us of the way then. The Heartstone will act as a failsafe. When Morgana is feeling more like herself, then perhaps we can integrate her magic as well.”

Douxie nodded, welcoming the distraction. “Well, let’s get to it.”

OOO

Douxie sighed as he stared at the ceiling of his messy room. It was around eleven in the morning. Morgana had left with Doctor Lake around two hours ago and should be back any minute now, unless Barbara had decided to get lunch with Morgana. It will be good for her, Douxie thought, to have friends that aren’t exactly teenagers. The maturity level wasn’t really the same.

Douxie had retreated to his room to rest after jointing his magic to Merlin’s ward and make it stronger. He rested, but he couldn’t sleep. Archie was fine, though. He could sleep like a brick. The familiar had his own tiny bed in the corner of the room, with its cat tower and all.

He sat up and sighed. He was not going to get any sleep. So, he decided to get out and maybe catch a movie with Nari or something. But before he even got up from his bed, his phone ringed. He looked down; it was a message from Zoe.

**_Zoe_ ** _: Hey, are you ok?_

**_Douxie_ ** _: (typing)_

**_Douxie_ ** _: Yeah_

**_Zoe_ ** _: (typing)_

**_Zoe_ ** _: I can smell your misery from a mile away. What’s wrong?_

Douxie paused. He didn’t want to trigger any memories from when he met her. So, he went with his other preoccupation.

**_Douxie_ ** _: It’s Morgana. Remember that I mentioned we had a meeting last night?_

**_Zoe_ ** _: Yeah, I do._

**_Douxie_ ** _: In summary, she heard something that she felt super guilty about and went off to revive the Heartstone in Troll Market._

**_Zoe_ ** _: Holy shit! Dude, I think she needs help._

**_Douxie_ ** _: (typing)_

**_Douxie_ ** _: Already on it. Doctor Lake took her to a therapist this morning after giving us the lecture of the century._

**_Zoe_ ** _: Damn… what about you?_

**_Douxie_ ** _: I’m fine. She worries me, that’s all. She’s gone through a lot in little time. She had to kill her own brother to save us, between other things._

**_Zoe_ ** _: (typing)_

**_Zoe_ ** _: Just want you to know that I’m here for you. Just like you’ve always been there for me._

Douxie smiled down at his phone.

**_Douxie_ ** _: Thanks, Zoe._

Douxie got up and headed for the living room. Nari, unsurprisingly, was there, watching Carmen Sandiego or something like that. Douxie smiled. For a creature of nature, Nari sure was fascinated with technology. He decided not to disturb her and crossed the hallway to Merlin’s room instead. He knocked on the door.

“It’s open.” Merlin called.

Douxie gently pushed the door and stepped inside. He stared in surprise at his surroundings. The room had received a whole makeover, seemly overnight. It was larger, wider, filled with shelves with books and other magical artifacts. There was the bed at the farthest corner of the room and a large working table at the center, where Merlin was currently sitting. It was more like a smaller version of Merlin’s tower back in Camelot, but inside an apartment in the twenty-first century.

“I love what you’ve done with the place.”

“You said make yourself at home, so I did.” The old wizards shrugged and adjusted his vest. “A few spells, here and there. A bit complicated-“

“I know it. The Widening Spell and the Room Merging Spell.”

Merlin stared in surprise. “How did you know?”

It was Douxie’s turn to shrug. “900 years is a lot of time to learn a thing or two. Besides, if I remember correctly, you made me a master wizard.”

Merlin chuckled. “Of course.” He went back to his tinkering.

Douxie approached the table. “What is that?”

Merlin sighed. “Just some contraption I was trying to put together. Nothing extraordinary.” He waved it off.

Douxie arched an eyebrow. “Really? That roughly looks like a Vespa. Or at least, the skeleton of it.” On cue, the Frankenstein of the Vespa fell apart and scattered on the floor. Both wizards stared at it, none made the movement to pick it up.

“It was a lost cause anyway.” Merlin mentioned.

Douxie looked at his master. “Why were you trying to build a Vespa? To be honest, you barely know much of the modern world.” He elected to ignore Merlin’s glare.

The master wizard sighed. “It’s for Jim.”

Douxie blinked. Merlin never talked about Jim, except when he referred to him as the Trollhunter. Maybe James, but he never referred to the boy as Jim. “A Vespa for Jim?”

Merlin nodded. “I _might_ have destroyed his when I created armors for his friends. I hadn’t realized the sentimental value the boy had for that old contraption until Lady Claire mentioned it to me during our journey to New Jersey. It wasn’t until James returned to his human form that it occurred to me.” He waved a hand and all the scattered parts flew back to the table. “Obviously, I have no idea what I’m doing. I have no knowledge of the modern mechanisms; therefore, I cannot use my magic to build it.”

“You feel guilty.” Douxie stated.

Merlin rolled his eyes. “No, Hisirdoux. I wanted a new past-time.”

“What is with wizards feeling guilty nowadays?” A feminine voice entered the room.

Merlin and Douxie turned to see Morgana entering the room, a tired smile on her face. Her appearance was fine, but she had bags under her eyes, the one sign that she wasn’t doing well.

“Morgana!” Douxie exclaimed. “How are you?”

Morgana made her way towards them. “Better, I believe. It’s a start. Barbara took me to an early lunch and then we came here. I am told I should go to the sessions twice a week, to which she’ll take me for the first five. It’s within walking distance from here.”

Douxie smiled. “I’m glad you’re getting help.”

Morgana gave him a tiny smile before driving the attention back to Merlin. “What is a Vespa?”

Merlin facepalmed. “That.” He pointed at the table. “Is a Vespa.”

Morgana arched a defined eyebrow. “I saw those at a store we passed by. In all colors and variations.”

Merlin stared. “You mean to tell me I can just buy one?”

Douxie chuckled. “You mean to tell me you didn’t know you could buy one?”

Merlin glared at his youngest apprentice. “Shut up.”

Douxie shook his head. “I told you, if you don’t know something, you can always ask me or Archie.”

Morgana and Merlin nodded.

“In that case,” Morgana started. “What’s ice cream? I heard it in passing, is it a dessert?”

Douxie grinned. “I thought you will never ask.”

OOO

At the nearest ice cream parlor, the customer service representative was bored. That was until a group of seemly ordinary people walked in… and then a cat with glasses and some walking little plant person followed. The representative blinked. Not the weirdest thing he had seen today.

Douxie smiled at the employee. “Hello. We will like four ice cream—”

“Ahem!” Archie cleared his throat.

“Fine. FIVE ice cream cups.” He turned to the group. “Guys, it’s on me. What flavor will you like?”

“What flavors are they?” Morgana asked, she sniffed. “It smells so sweet in here!”

The employee gave a lovesick sigh as he stared at Morgana. Douxie rolled his eyes at the employee, who quickly look the other way. He turned to Morgana again. “I’ll surprise you then.”

“Very well.”

Merlin just walked towards the table outside and sat there, Archie and Morgana followed. Nari pressed her face against the glass as she watched with wide eyes at the employee scooping the ice cream into cups. She ogled at the wide variety of colors and flavors.

“Anything you’ll like, Nari?”

The veggie lady pointed. “I want the blue one!” She exclaimed.

Douxie smiled and turned to the employee. “She will have the cotton candy flavor.”

The young master wizard paid and went back to the table outside with four ice cream cups at him, Nari following close behind as she ate the delicious frozen treat. The little goddess took a seat next to Morgana and Archie and Douxie sat next to Merlin. “Merlin, chocolate. Morgana, good ole vanilla. Archie, your usual Frankenstein of a salmon ice cream—” Archie quickly snatched the cup from Douxie’s hand and proceeded to eat. “Ew... And myself, Rocky Road.”

He watched the wizards’ expressions. Merlin seemed a bit taken aback by the coldness but shrugged and continued to munch on it. Morgana, however, was savoring the treat. “This is delightful!” Said she.

“I’m glad you liked it! I was starting to think I should have switched the flavors.”

“Well, this is marvelous. I’ve never tried anything like it!”

“Except, of course, your preposterous obsession with apple pastries back in Camelot.” Merlin smirked. “You were always sneaking those up to your lessons with the governess.” The wizard put down his empty cup Douxie stared in shock. The wizard hadn’t said anything, but apparently, he had found the treat acceptable. “Then one day, you dropped one right when I was walking by and I fell. You were scolded by your father King Uther, the kitchen staff and me. You swore you’d never eat another pastry again after that embarrassment!”

Morgana blushed. “I was just a child! Are you seriously not over that?”

Merlin chuckled. “Hehehe, no.” He frowned. “I can still feel the ache in my tailbone.”

Morgana shrugged. “They were just too good.” She said with a nostalgic tone.

“Not as good as this frozen treat…” Nari moaned as she finished the last of her ice cream, placed the cup over the table and burped. She looked up in embarrassment. She blushed. “Pardon me…”

Silence. Then joyful, uncontrolled laughter. Archie chuckled. He had never seen the three of them have has much fun as they were having now and Nari seemed to have fun too.

They shared more stories and spent a few hours just sitting there, chatting. Morgana seemed happier, but not entirely. Merlin seemed, uncharacteristically, determined to make her smile by telling embarrassing stories from Camelot, some included Douxie, much to the young master wizard’s embarrassment. Nari just asked the most inopportune questions at the most inopportune times.

“So Douxie kissed the cabbage because he was under a love potion gone wrong?” The wizards laughed. “Nari!” Douxie had covered his face.

“Come now, Hisirdoux. Nothing to be ashamed of.” Said Merlin.

Douxie glared. “I kissed… a cabbage. Think about that.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Merlin chuckled.

When the laughter was dying down, Douxie received a text.

**_Claire_ ** _: I got the trolls back to Troll Market safely!_

Douxie stared at his phone. “Well, that was fast…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the Arthurian legends, King Uther is Arthur's father. I couldn't find if he was also Morgana's father but I decided to go along with it. Just clarifying he's not an OC.


	9. Trollmarket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trolls are reconstructing their homes. Merlin and Zoe's hate for each other keeps getting worse. Jim comes to terms with an uncertain future. Douxie can't keep his eyes away from Zoe.  
> Oh, and Nomura put Merlin on her blacklist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the LONGEST chapter so far.

Claire and Blinky looked over the plans across the table. “Maybe we should have Merlin help with the new ward around Trollmarket?”

Blinky groaned. “Sure, and after he’s done, he’ll come back to grace us with his undesirable presence. We need something that will keep him occupied. Hopefully, forever. I swear, he’s worse than Dictatious.”

“He’s not that bad, Blinky.” Blinky gave her a look. Claire sighed. “Ok, he’s a torn on our side.”

“Tell that to my bruised pride. Honestly, I cannot go one minute talking without him correcting me on troll history. TROLL history, Claire!” He facepalmed. “The journey to New Jersey had been an unpleasant one with him around.”

Claire chuckled. “At least Douxie keeps him at bay.”

“Thank Deya for that boy’s existence.” Blinky mumbled.

“How’s everything going here?” Jim asked as he entered the library.

Claire smiled. “Jim! Everything is great. We were just thinking where we should have Merlin go to next.”

“Yeah, you better think fast because he and Nomura just met face to face.” Said Jim.

Blinky facepalmed again. “What did he do now?”

“Everything was fine for a moment, but then Merlin decided it was appropriate on correcting her on her knowledge of ancient civilizations.”

“Must he!”

Jim nodded. “So, Nomura added him to her blacklist and Douxie just prevented a Third World War.”

Claire groaned. “It will be pretty hard for him to get on her good graces. But something tells me he just doesn’t care.”

“I was thinking that maybe he can just go help fix the Gyre? That could take him a while…”

Blinky clapped. “Excellent idea, Master Jim! Claire, you tell him.”

“What!? Why me? You tell him!”

“You’re a witch! You tell him!”

“You’re Trollmarket’s Elder. It’s your job.”

Blinky glared at the girl before sighing. “Fine.” He grabbed the staff that once belonged to Vendel. He turned to Jim. “Before I leave to deal with a… _problem_ … How is everything doing out there?”

Jim smiled. “Great! Construction is going smoothly. Douxie was helping on the concrete clean up and everybody else is doing odd jobs around. I think I saw Nari growing some vegetation for the farmer trolls, she seemed busy. Even Steve’s out there helping!”

For a moment, they heard a distant cry. “Ahhhh! My tooth!!!”

Jim grinned. “Sort of.”

Blinky chuckled. “Very well. I must be off. Claire, finish up those blueprints for the new plaza, will you.”

Claire nodded and Blinky made his way out of the library. Jim turned to his girlfriend. “Can I help?”

“Sure! But I was about to take a small break. I brought burritos. Care for one?”

“Sure!”

The couple sat down at the table and unwrapped the burritos. “Dad made them. He was following an old family recipe.”

Jim took a bite out of the burrito and moaned. “This is so good! Do you think I can get the recipe?”

“You’ll have to ask my dad. Even I don’t know it!”

They ate quietly, just enjoying each other’s company. They could hear construction noise outside of the library, with trolls, wizards and humans working diligently to restore the market to its former glory.

“What’s wrong, Jim?” Claire suddenly asked.

“Ugh?” Jim wiped his mouth. “Nothing! Everything’s great!”

“Jim.” Claire took his hand. “A lot happened the past couple of weeks. Specially to you. You almost died a couple of times, turned into a full troll, turned back to human and Arthur took over your mind! Jim, I know you are not ok.”

Jim looked down at his burrito.

“You know you can talk to me, right?”

Jim smiled at her. “I know I can count on you, Claire. But…” He looked down. “I don’t even know what I’m thinking. Sometimes I want to be a half troll again and sometimes I despise it, and other times I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore.” He turned back to Claire. “Just… Who am I now?”

Claire gave him an understanding smile. “I see what you mean, Jim. You are our hero. A friend. A really good-looking boyfriend.”

Jim chuckled.

“But I can’t tell you what to feel or what is going to happen now.” Claire said. She seemed to think for a moment and smiled. “Hey! Maybe you can talk to the Trollhunters in the Soothscryer. They could have some mystical wisdom to bestow upon you.”

Jim smiled. “Maybe I should. Thanks Claire.”

OOO

“Hey Jim!” Douxie called as Jim stepped out of the library.

Jim smiled. “Hey, Douxie. Need help?”

Douxie shook his head. “No. Well, not me anyways. I was going to ask you if you were alright. You seemed a bit down earlier.”

Jim gave him a smile. “Yeah, I just talked to Claire about it, no big deal.”

Douxie gave him a look. “Alright, if you say so. Just know you can talk to me if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Doux.”

“Oh, and by the way. If you see Zoe around, can you escort her back here to the library? I asked her to help us today.”

Archie jumped on his back. “More like guilt tripped her into it.”

“Archie…” Douxie said in a warning tone.

“Oh, please. We all know you just want to see her.” Archie teased.

“Archie! She’s not my--- dammit! Not this conversation in front of a friend!” Douxie argued.

Jim laughed. “You like her, don’t you?”

Douxie glared at Jim. “Not you too. I have a familiar, two master wizards and one little nature goddess on my back for it. It’s not happening.”

“I won’t say anything, Douxie. I’m not snitch.” Jim smiled. “And not all hope is lost. I got together with Claire and I was the most hopeless guy to get a date.”

Douxie sighed. “She’s not my girlfriend…”

“Yet.” Archie said. Douxie glared at the familiar. “What? I’ve been waiting for the two of you to get together for centuries now. That is a long wait.”

“Archie, is not going to happen.” Douxie denied.

Jim chuckled. “As fun as this conversation is, I have to get going.” He panted Douxie’s shoulder. “I won’t be telling anyone, I promise.”

“Jim…” The wizards warned.

Archie turned to the Trollhunter. “I’ll make you a personalized wedding invitation.”

“Archie!”

Jim chuckled. “I won’t bother you anymore. See ya!”

Douxie waved back and when Jim was out of sight, he turned to glare at the familiar. “Did you had to embarrass me like that?”

“I’m trying to coax you out of your shell. You can’t keep going like this!” Archie jumped from Douxie’s shoulder and flew in front of him. “The boy is trustworthy; he won’t say anything. Besides, I am your familiar. I can feel your emotions if I concentrate enough. Even Nari confirmed it for you, why keep denying it?”

Douxie looked down.

“Douxie, you know you can talk to me, right?”

Douxie sighed. “I know. It’s just…”

Archie listened carefully.

“I don’t want to mess it up. She’s one of the most important persons in my life…”

OOO

Zoe sighed as she stepped inside Trollmarket. Why had she agreed to help? Because Hisir ** _douche_** Casperan guilt tripped her into it, that’s why!

_“Nope.”_

_“Do it for the poor, homeless trolls!” He had said. She felt bad about it and decided to help._

He said that they might need her magic for the reconstruction. She rolled her eyes. Why will they need her magic? She was a hedge witch. Not that powerful and her craft was widely different from a full-blown mage like Douxie.

She looked around and what she saw… was a mess.

The trolls seemed to be scavenging whatever was left after the Eternal Night and the battle with Gunmar. Many huts and shops were broken down, destroyed or just plain messy. The Heartstone shone down upon the market, making everything seem like it would be ok. Zoe sighed as she walked down the pathway towards the Heartstone. Some trolls stared; they had never seen her before. Some looked weary.

Zoe felt a bit uneasy under their gaze. She was lost. So, she decided to approach the friendliest looking troll in the area.

“Excuse me?”

Bagdwella looked up from her herbs and groaned. “And you are?”

Zoe suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. “Hi, I’m here to help with the cleanup. I’m looking for the trollhunters and the wizards?”

“Prove you’re a witch and I’ll tell you.” The troll crossed her arms.

Zoe finally rolled her eyes and extended her hand. With a snap of her fingers the roots Bagdwella was trying to pull out gathered all in a neat pile beside the troll. Herbology wasn’t one of her specialties for nothing.

“Oh!” Bagdwella smiled. “You are the hedge witch that lovely boy was talking about.”

“Douxie?”

“Yes, that’s the one. Quite the gentleman. He fixed the structure of my shop!” Said she. “But he was with that insufferable Merlin!” Bagdwella complained. “Come now, I’ll take you to Blinky’s library.”

The two walked pass the shops. Zoe looked around. Trolls of all sizes and colors rebuilding their home. It left a warm feeling in her chest.

“So, what are your specialties?” Bagdwella asked her.

“Herbology, alchemy… I mostly make healing potions. And I can talk to spirits. But that’s not something I do often.” Necromancy, the art of speaking with the dead.

“Interesting.” Bagdwella mentioned. “I heard hedge witches only focus on one particular craft. You must be as powerful as a master wizard!”

“Thanks for the flattery, but it doesn’t really work that way. A mage like Merlin or Morgana have powers beyond what we can imagine. I’m not in their league.” Zoe smiled. “What about you? What do you sell in that shop?”

“Well, trinkets and rare artifacts. Occasionally, potions.” Bagdwella stopped for a moment and turned to Zoe. “Hey! You can be my potions supplier! I’ll pay a good price.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“Look around you! I live around precious stones. You can use them for your potions or for jewelry, like you humans like to do.”

Zoe seemed to think about it. “What kind of potions do you need?”

“Stone care mostly. Something to piece stones together could come in handy as well.” Said Bagdwella. “Centuries ago, I had a deal with another hedge witch, but we moved away, and I lost touch. Having that deal again will be good for business.”

Zoe bit her lip. She _was_ running out of quartz for healing potions. “Deal. I’ll be a supplier then.” She shook hands with the trolls.

“Zoe!”

The hedge witch looked around and saw Douxie approaching her. A slight blushed formed on her cheeks. “Hey, Douxie.”

Douxie smiled. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“You guilt tripped me into it.” She glared.

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” He scratched his head. “Come with me, we have a lot to do. Thank you for escorting her, Bagdwella.” He took Zoe’s hand and pulled her away. It didn’t help with Zoe’s blush.

“You’re welcome.” Bagdwella watched as both wizards walk away. She blinked. She gasped. “ ** _They were roommates_!**”

OOO

Douxie and Zoe walked side by side. Neither met each other’s eyes. Douxie scratched the back of his head while Zoe bit her lip.

“So….”

“Yeah…”

“What do you want me to do?” Zoe broke the silence.

“Well, a lot of plants started to grow around the Heartstone when the Market was deserted, some that we have no idea what they are and considering we are in a place with a lot of magic—”

“—Identify which plants are good and which ones are a danger. Harvest the good ones, get rid of the bad ones. Gotcha.”

“You are the best at what you do.” Douxie smiled.

“Well, I AM a master herbologist.” Zoe smiled back.

“That you are…”

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before realizing what they were doing and looked away, a heavy blush in their cheeks. They continued their walk towards the Heartstone.

“So, where’s Archie?” Zoe tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear.

“He’s helping around with decorations. He’s one of the few creatures here that can fly. So, he can reach higher places.”

The rest of their walk was silent until they finally reached the Heartstone. Morgana was there with a book on her right hand, trying to identify some of the plants in the area. Merlin was there as well, searching around the unidentified plants. As soon as Douxie and Zoe were in their line of view, Merlin glared at Zoe.

“Pinky.” Said Merlin.

“Tool Bag.” Zoe crossed her arms.

Merlin turned to Douxie. “Hisirdoux, what is she doing here?”

Douxie placed a hand over Zoe’s shoulder. “Zoe is a master herbologist. She’s here to help with the plants and identify them.”

“Oh, really?” Merlin crossed his arms as well. Today, he had opted for the armor. “Don’t screw it up.”

“What do you mean with that!?” Douxie restrained Zoe by the shoulders.

“Is it your craft as a hedge witch?”

“That and much more.” Zoe spat.

“Impossible. Hedge wizards only focus on one craft.”

Before Zoe could answer, Douxie stepped. “Zoe is quite gifted in herbology, the best I know. Not to mention a master alchemist and necromancer! She has gotten us out of trouble when we encountered ghosts in the Victorian Era.”

“An alchemist!?” Morgana wandered off to the group. “You must be very well versed in the craft. I’ve never heard of a multi-talented hedge witch. We must get together sometime to discuss some potions. I’ve been looking to learn the more modern ones.”

“Sure. Give me a call.”

Merlin stared at Zoe. “A necromancer?”

“Got a problem?” Zoe dared.

Merlin looked her over for a moment. “Not really. But I’ve never heard of a hedge witch with such power.”

“And?”

“And I don’t believe you.”

“WHY YOU LITTLE—”

“Hey!!!” Douxie pulled Zoe back. “Let’s focus on the task at hand, ok?” He gently pushed Zoe towards Morgana, who took the hint and gladly guided her towards the plants. Douxie turned and glared at Merlin.

“What?”

“Why are you like this?”

Merlin shrugged.

Douxie groaned. “I honestly wish someone will knock you off your high horse.” He mumbled. “Look, I get you don’t like each other, and you don’t have too, but please refrain from insulting her.” He begged. “Please, Merlin. We don’t want a repetition of what happened with Nomura.”

“Who?”

Douxie pointed to his right. About sixty feet away from them, Nomura was sitting over a rock as she sharpened her swords with a small stone. She took one look at Merlin’s direction and broke the stone she used out of anger. She never broke eye contact. She pointed at him and then _flipped him the bird_.

“See what I mean? She hates you.”

“I was merely correcting her historical inaccuracies!”

“She’s an expert in history, and the modern one at that, which you barely know about! Merlin, you can't just go around telling people they are bad at what they do. That’s rude.”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “What’s that gesture she used?”

“It means ‘ _fuck off’_.” Douxie answered with no regrets. Merlin’s face was priceless.

“Oh…”

“There you are!” Both wizards turned to find Blinky coming up to them. “Merlin, you are needed at Gyre station. They could use your help with it.”

“Very well.” Said Merlin, but not before saying something else to Douxie. “Fine, I won’t try to antagonize her.”

“Thank you.”

“For today, anyway.” The wizard turned and left.

Douxie groaned. Blinky patted him on the back. “Now, now. It will be alright. But I must say, I don’t envy you.”

Douxie sighed. “I don’t think anybody does. Well, back to work.”

“I’ll see you around, Master Wizard.” Blinky made his way towards the shops.

Douxie turned and headed towards Morgana and Zoe, where the former was explaining the herbs to Morgana, who took notes.

“…this is a Gnome Root. It has curatives properties, but only if used correctly. Hey, Douxie.” Zoe greeted. “Done with the Tool Bag?” She adjusted her sitting position to make space for the wizard.

Douxie smiled. “He was needed elsewhere. Do continue.” He knelt beside her.

“Right, as I was saying. The Gnome Root can be used for bombs and they can be used as a buffer for some potions…”

Douxie got lost somewhere between the lecture as he stared at Zoe’s eyes. He sighed and smiled. He can’t remember the last time he thought of someone as the most beautiful person on Earth other than Zoe…

OOO

Jim sighed as he entered the Hero’s Forge. The lights were on, but there was no one there. Also, there was a big mess of rocks and scattered weaponry. He sighed and made his way to the Soothscryer. He looked around before inserting his right hand inside the mechanism. In the blink of an eye, he was in the Void Between Worlds.

But there were no Trollhunters there. “Hello?”

He waved his hands around, but nothing happened. Where they in some sort of vacation or did the spirits of the past Trollhunters finally moved on?

“Waving your hands like that around only makes you more of a noddle.” A voice spoke behind him.

Jim gasped and turned. He stared at one face he hadn’t thought he would see. He was expecting Kanjigar, maybe. But he wasn’t expecting her…

…he wasn’t expecting Deya the Deliverer.

There she stood in full armor, smiling at him. “Hey, skinny legs. What’s up?”

Jim’s eyes watered. He knew he was seeing a friend. He also knew that if she was here, she was dead. That reality didn’t sit well with him. “Hey…” His voice cracked.

“Are your eyes leaking or something?” She chuckled. “Never thought I’ll see you in human form—whoa!”

Jim had run up to her and hugged her tightly. She smiled and hugged him back. He cried. “It’s good to see you.” He whispered.

Deya smiled. “Same here, Jim. Funny. The first and the last Trollhunter are friends. What a way to end the circle.”

Jim pulled away and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, ironic, isn’t it?”

“Tell me about it. Angor Rot took my soul and next thing you know, centuries have passed and the current Trollhunter is a human boy who, coincidently, his name is Jim. Like certain half-troll I met some time ago. You just put two and two together.”

“That’s confusing.” He chuckled.

“My thoughts exactly. Then it turns out there’s a limbo for dead Trollhunters.”

Jim frowned. “Where are they, anyway?”

“Oh, they’re here! Don’t worry about them. They’re forever resting.” Deya laughed. “But yeah, I wanted to get you alone. So, I shooed them off for the time being.” She placed a hand over his shoulder. “Seemed like you could use a friend.”

Jim gave her a sad smile. He looked down. “The amulet is destroyed.”

“So?”

Jim looked up in shock. “But—”

“It’s a piece of junk made by _another_ piece of junk!” Deya laughed. “It was meant for one thing and that was defeat Gunmar. Something none of us did.”

“You banished him to the Darklands!”

“And you killed that bitch, so we’re even.” Said the spectrum. “Now tell me, what’s bothering you about it?”

“It’s just…” He sighed. “I’m supposed to be trollkind’s protector. Without the amulet, I’m just a fleshbag. I can’t protect the trolls, I can’t protect my friends or my mom, I can’t barely take on a Quagawump, and that’s the smallest troll I know. Gnome Chompsky attacked me the other day for a peanut and I had to use cutlery to ward him off! The Arcane Order is a threat that I’m useless against. Everyone has been treating like I’m made of glass! I’m supposed to be the protector, not the protected. I had a purpose…” He trailed off.

Deya listened, but her smile never left her face. “The amulet chooses the Trollhunter, Jim. It’s a destiny, it’s a gift. But it doesn’t make you Jim Lake Jr. YOU make Jim Lake Jr. As for a purpose, I don’t think you’re done just yet.”

Jim said nothing.

“Because if you were done with your purpose, Jim, I assure you, you would have a hell of a time playing cards with Kanjigar in the afterlife and the dude is a sore loser. You want that? No, I don’t think so.”

“But I…” He didn’t finish.

“You need to heal, Jim. You need time.” Deya said with much more force. “You need to rest.” She gently scooped his cheek in her hands and the boy let a few tears lose. “You have done enough.” The boy sobbed.

“I just don’t know who I am anymore…” He whispered.

The former Trollhunter wiped away a tear from the boy’s face. “You stand out like a sun, Jim. You alone among all those before you did the impossible. You, a human boy, sacrificed everything to defend a race that wasn’t your own and yet, you answered their calls for help against all odds. And WON.”

Jim sobbed and cried.

“You inspired an outcast to answer the same call and your actions created a chain reaction that led to this very moment. You are the hero that gave everything and received nothing. Do you want to know who you are?”

Jim buried his face on her shoulder. His body shook.

“You… are the **_best_** of us.” She hugged him and let him cry all the tears he had been holding back. She careered his hair. “If you really want to know what will happen after this, I assure you, you’re not done. I promise. You still have a long way ahead of you, kid. Take this time to be you, enjoy it. You’ve earned it.”

They stood like that for long moment until Jim pulled away.

“Better?”

“I guess…”

“Hey, don’t be a wuss. I’m not going to repeat myself.” That took a chuckled out of the boy.

“Destiny is a gift…” Said Jim. “Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valour. That to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a hero. Don’t think. Become.” He smiled at her.

“Mmmhhh… I wonder who said that.”

“You did.” He laughed.

“Oh, right! I’m a wordsmith, am I?”

There was a call to Jim’s name.

“You should go back to the world of the living.” Deya said. “I think your friend is calling you.”

“Toby, right. Maybe I should go back.”

“Take care, Jim. And remember destiny has weird ways to call out.”

Jim crossed his arms. “I have a feeling that you know something I don’t.”

Deya laughed. “You’re right. I KNOW something you don’t. Bye!”

“Wait--!” The boy was gone in a flash.

Deya smiled. “Oh, Jim. You have NO idea.”

Back at the Hero’s Forge, Toby walked back and forth with his hands on his back. “Come on, Jimbo…” Just then, in a blue light, his best friend appeared.

“Jimbo! Don’t run off like that! I got worried!” Toby pulled him into a tight hug. “Are you ok?”

Jim hugged him back. “Yeah, I just needed to sort off some things.”

“Oh, good.” Toby pulled back. “I was worried a zombie Gumm-Gumm took you away!”

They laughed. Jim sighed. “Hey, what about if we get tacos after this. Just you and me, like old times. Then we can watch a movie!”

Toby’s eyes watered. “You don’t have to ask me! We just go and that’s it!”

Jim laughed. “I missed you, Tobes.”

“I missed you too, Jimbo. It wasn’t the same without you.” Both friends walked out of the Hero’s Forge in higher spirits that they had for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, reviews keep me going on with this story, so please do tell me what you liked most about this chapter!


	10. Sir Steve Du Lac

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve encounters Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, but she has a different form and Steve discovers his ancestry. Plus, something else...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! I was super nervous about this chapter, because I didn't want to butcher up Nimue with the new design I gave her and my story arc for Steve. I decided to introduce Nimue to the story because of two reason: one, I wanted to explore the Arthurian legends further and two, she still needs to kick Merlin's ass at some point.

Steve placed his hands inside his pockets as he walked around the park, hoping the night stroll would clear his mind. He wasn’t in the mood for Coach’s dad talks, no matter if they made him feel better at the end. It’s not like Coach could understand why he was so upset and scared.

 _He made water move_.

He scratched his head, relieving the memory all over again. He had received a phone call from his dad, who was a total buttsnack. Something about his child support. He was the one who took the call, so his mother didn’t have to deal with him. One thing had led to another and before he knew it, he had a shouting match with the idiot on the other side of the call. He hangs up on him at the moment his dad started calling his mother ugly names. He was furious, anxious and understandably upset. He wanted to punch something and slam something into the wall. The nearest thing he had was an innocent bottle of water on his bedside table. He took the bottle and threw against the wall, effectible leaving a dent on it. The plastic broke off and the water spilled on the floor.

Steve glared at the water. He was so upset; he was so angry. He didn’t have magic to make things easier or a magic sword to be special. He wasn’t anything special. He cowered at the gaze of his father and he had wrongfully taken it out on the other students at the school.

He stomped on the ground and the water jumped in the air. Steve stared. He tried again and it had the same effect on the water. He fearfully extended a hand towards the spilled water and tried to will it to go up in the air. He waited a moment and the water started to go up. Steve stared. He moved his hand to his right; the water went to the right. He moved his hand to the left; the water went to the left. He gasped in fear and lost control of the water and let it splash onto the floor.

“Steve? Are you ok?” His mother knocked in his door.

“Ugh… I’m fine!” He managed to answer. “Hey, um… I’m going for a walk. Probably visit the trolls.”

“Alright, but be careful, honey.” The she left.

Fast forward and that’s how he found himself walking the streets of Arcadia. He rubbed his eyes and groaned. He could go to Claire or Douxie and explain the situation. But Claire didn’t like him that much and if he tried to show either her or Douxie whatever had happened back home might not repeat itself and risk being catalogued as crazy.

He could explain it to Jim, they had a bit of an understanding of each other after everything that happened. But he doubted the other boy would believe him. Toby, perhaps, he seemed to have a bit more faith in the magical, but the risks were the same. Krel… nope. He didn’t like him and wasn’t shutting up about it.

He wished Pepperjack or Aja were here, at least they would believe him.

_“Steve…”_

He stopped. Great. Now he was hearing creepy voices. He was going nuts.

**_“Steve…”_ **

There it was again, but clearer. A woman’s voice. Steve looked around. “Nope, creepy voice! I am not falling for it!”

**_“Steve Palchuk…”_ **

“Oh no, it knows my name!” He trembled. Suddenly, an orb of blue light appeared in front of him. He screamed and covered his face. A few seconds passed and he took a good look at it. It was just floating there. “Nope! If it leads me to a death trap, I am not stepping near you, creepy blue voice!” He took a few steps back.

“ ** _DAMMIT, SIR STEVE, JUST FOLLOW THE DAMN ORB_** \--- ahem, my apologies.” The Orb apologized. “I should not have lost my temper with you, but I do not have all night.”

Steve stared. “You sound kind of familiar.”

“ _We have met before_.” The voice spoke softly, like a caring mother.

Steve glared. “I would remember if I had met a talking, magical blue orb in the past.” He gasped. “Unless you erased my memories!”

The orb floated quietly. “ _Just follow. All answers in due time_.” The Orb floated away towards the woods.

Steve sighed. “The woods. Why is it always the woods!?” He decided to follow. “This better not be about the end of the world again.”

He ran through the dense trees, following the orb. He tripped over a tree root and fell, scraping his elbow during the process. He got up and kept running. Eventually, they reached Arcadia Lake. Steve made a stop and panted. “Why so fast, though…” He struggled a bit to find his breath.

The orb glided over the lake and submerged inside it. Steve stepped closer to the water. “Um, Orb thingy? Hello?”

Suddenly, a woman in glowing blue emerged from the waters along with a huge monster body behind her. Steve gasped. “Wait! I know you!”

“Indeed, you do.”

“You’re the Lady of the Lake! Nimue!”

Nimue nodded. “Indeed. Good thing that you have not forgotten me.”

Steve scratched his head. “That would have been hard. You’re kind of… huge.” He extended his arms to show. “Wait. How are you here, exactly? You’re a sea monster! A huge one at that! How did you get here all the way from Camelot!?”

Nimue started to submerge herself into the water. “I have many secrets. My powers work in mysterious ways, not even Merlin could understand… But this is not my only form.” She had completely submerged herself.

Steve looked. “Where did you—WHOA!!!”

The waters parted in half and a figure walked through it. Steve gasped. A half troll walked out of the water dressed in a white suit of armor and dark blue cape. Her skin was blue, her hair gray of age tied neatly in a ponytail and a pair of gray horns. Her eyes, however, were still yellow and orange with a spark of red.

Steve stared. “Nimue?”

Nimue gave him a warm smile and conjured a wizard staff. It was made of oak wood and had a blue gem encrusted on top of the staff. “This is my real form.”

“Whoa!” Steve was amazed. “Though, you are kind of small for a troll.”

“I’m a half troll.”

“Were you turned like Jim?”

“Nope. Born like that.”

Steve frowned, suddenly remembering an important detail. “Wait a minute, lady! YOU ATE US BACK IN THAT CAVE!!!” He pointed an accusing finger to Nimue.

“And you took my tooth, so we’re even!” She extended her left arm. “Let me see that scratch.”

Steve raised his scraped elbow to her direction. Nimue made a wave with her hand and willed a bit of water from the lake to touch his elbow. The watered cleaned the wound and sealed it, effectible healing it. Steve stared. “That… I… I—”

“—Was able to bend water to your will just tonight. I know.”

Steve rubbed his elbow. “How do you know?”

“Maybe I should start from the very beginning.” Nimue gave him a sad look. “Let’s sit here.”

Steve followed Nimue’s gesture and sat over the rocky shore of the lake. The sorceress (sea monster? Whatever…) placed the staff beside her and her hand over her tights. “How much of the Arthurian legends do you know?”

Steve thought for a moment. “Well, what everybody knows. Super awesome cool sword wielded by a king, who was a total buttsnack. The knights, Lancelot, the queen, Morgana, Merlin, you. I think that’s about it.”

Nimue smiled. “Let’s talk about Lancelot, then.” She stared at the water. “I believe your human version says I raised him?”

“Oh, yeah! We read about it in school—Wait! Did you?”

Nimue still stared at the water. “Legends hold some truth to it, but not all of it, as you have come to know. But in this case, yes. I raised Lancelot Du Lac.”

“Whoa. So, you’re like, his mom?”

Nimue nodded. “In the definition of the word, yes.”

“Not to be disrespectful or anything, but what does that have to do with you being in Arcadia?”

Nimue sighed. “I’m getting there. I had found Lancelot by the shores of my lake, abandoned as a baby. I took him in…”

“And you became his super awesome sea monster mom.”

Nimue gave him a smile. “I guess I did.” She cleared her throat. “Nevertheless, I shielded him from the world during his earlier years, he would resent me on it later in life, but he never hated me.” She willed two orbs of water to dance across the lake. “He became a knight and served under Arthur’s rule after he had retrieved Excalibur.”

“You made the sword, right?”

Nimue nodded. “They became great friends, Arthur was a fair ruler, if a little fearful of the magical creatures as you know. Which is why I had asked Lancelot to keep his parentage a secret from the king.”

Steve looked down. “Then he went on a killer path after the queen was murdered, right?”

“Indeed. I fear that Arthur had poisoned Lancelot’s mind and turned him against the magical creatures, except me. But as you know…” She frowned. “Merlin had trapped me inside that awful cave.”

“Why did he do that?”

“Let me finish, we are getting off topic. The king’s corruption and other details for another day…” Nimue dismissed the question. Steve made a mental note to never mention Merlin, there seemed to be some **bad blood** between them. He didn’t blame her.

“Then Killahead happened. I remember you asked for my assistance in taking down Bular.”

“Yeah, thanks by the way.”

Nimue looked down. “I hadn’t known Lancelot was dead the moment you called.”

Steve stayed silent.

“When the battle was over and Lancelot’s body was laid to rest, then I knew…”

_Nimue had waited for night to fall to reach the tombs of the king and his fallen soldiers. Nimue quietly made her way through the tombs until she had reached the king’s, but he was not there. And neither was Excalibur. Nimue sighed. Maybe they had taken his body to rest somewhere else, she thought. Excalibur should rest with its king._

_Nimue quietly made her way to another tomb, were the fallen knights of the round table were laid to rest. She saw Sir Percival, Sir Gawain, Sir Tristan…_

_Lancelot._

_She ran towards the stone table were his body laid along with his sword. She trembled and dropped her staff. She gently touched his cheek. It was cold as stone._

_“Lancelot?”_

_No answer._

_“Lancy?” Her tears ran across her stone cheeks. “Please… Its me, mother…”_

_Part of her expected her son to wake up and pretend it was all a bad prank. But she knew it wasn’t true. Her Lancelot wouldn’t wake up. She sank to her knees as she cried over his chest. “I’m so sorry…” Her cries echoed across the tomb._

“There’s no greater pain than a mother’s loss…” The sorceress trailed off. “After that, I decided that his descendants should have been protected as well.” Said Nimue. “I searched for his son; a bastard child conceived out of wedlock. I granted him the same power I have of Water Magic so he could protect himself and never face the same fate Lancelot did.”

Steve couldn’t breathe.

“As humans gradually stopped believing in magic, the gift I had bestowed upon Lancelot’s bloodline started to banish. So, I hid in the shadows. Watching over them.” She turned to Steve. “I was pleasantly surprised to find that the boy that had requested my aid during the war, is today the youngest living descendant of my son.”

Steve struggled to breathe. He looked towards the lake. “You’re telling me… that I…. that you…. That Lancelot…”

Nimue placed a hand over his shoulder. “You believe in my story, but you do not believe that you are from a special linage. You desire to know if you are Lancelot’s descendant through your father.” Steve stared in shock. Right, he had forgotten she could sort of read his thoughts and know his desires. She smiled. “The answer is no. You are a descendant of Lancelot through your mother. A strong woman, she is.”

Steve let out a sigh of relief he hadn’t known he was holding.

“As for why I’m here, I’m here for you.” Said Nimue. “Tonight, your Water Magic activated, and I felt it. I came here to help you.”

Steve stood up suddenly. “Whoa! Wait! Give me minute! Let me get this straight!” He turned to the sorceress, who sat patiently over the rocky shore. “You’re telling me I’m a descendant of Lancelot and that makes you my **_many great, many, many, great grandma_**!?”

Nimue nodded. “And you have water-based abilities.”

“YOU’RE TELLING I’M PART OF THE SOUTHERN WATER TRIBE!?”

Nimue arched an eyebrow at that. “I do not know of any southern water tribe, I’m afraid.”

“It’s a TV show…” He groaned. “Never mind. Back to the point. Suddenly I’m a wizard?!”

“Not really. You just have Water Magic and the ability to bend it to your will. There might be things you cannot do that I can.”

Steve stared. “I’m a water wizard then?”

Nimue sighed. “No, Steve. You just have that ability. You don’t catalog as a wizard.” She stood up and grabbed her staff. “I know this is too much for you, but I came here to train you and help you control it. Magic is emotion after all. Anger and sadness are not proper ways to channel any type of magic, after all.”

"So, just to be sure, I'm not a wizard like Merlin?"

Nimue's eye twitched at the mention of that name. "...No."

Steve ran a hand through his hair. “Why did my… _Water Magic_ … activated then?”

Nimue took a moment to think. “Like I mentioned before, I’m never too far off from my family.” Steve felt a warm feeling when she mentioned the word family. “My theory is that your prolonged exposure to magic here in Arcadia awoke your abilities.”

Steve nodded. He hadn’t been the smartest in his class, but that made much more sense. “So, when do we start?” He eagerly asked.

“Now, if you wish.” Nimue smiled. “Put your hands like this.” She extended her hand towards the lake. Steve imitated her. “Water is the life source of nature. No amount of magic, dark or light, can be as important as water. It is life.” She took a deep breath and exhaled, Steve did the same. “To command it, you must be the authority between you and your emotions and water will do as told. One wrong move out of anger and it could be fatal for those around you. Focus. What do you feel?” She put her hands down while Steve kept his up.

Steve frowned. “I feel… calm? Relaxed…” Suddenly, a small spiral of water appeared in front of him. He smiled. “Whoa!!! I’m doing it!” The small spiral splashed against his clothes.

“Happiness can be tricky to control as well, but never as dangerous as a negative emotion. Any questions?”

“Yeah, can I call you grandma?”

“Hehehe… No.” She frowned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Nimue are family! Yay! *claps*  
> I have BIG plans for these two. I hope you guys liked how I wrote Nimue. Don't worry, she still wants to slap Merlin. It will happen, I promise.  
> (You can check Nimue's design HERE)  
> https://sammyheroes.tumblr.com/post/628649803613618177/stuff-happens-chapter-10-sir-steve-du-lac-read-it


	11. Slice of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during the next few weeks. Morgana gets a part-time. Nari gets to go to the park and Merlin apologizes to Jim. Steve just wants a nap.

It’s been three weeks since Douxie took them in. Two weeks since reconstruction started on Trollmarket. Even with everything that had happened, Morgana had been feeling a bit bored. She had no one to talk to. Well, she did, but Merlin wasn’t the type of company you wanted most of the time before you grew a bit tired of his arrogance and Nari, bless her heart, was a bit too childish at times. Claire was preparing to go back to school next week, so she couldn’t talk to her nor her friends. Barbara was working and Nomura was busy in Troll Market. She had grown quite fond of them and would consider them friends.

She had nothing to do. She had read almost half the book collection Douxie had left for her in her room, but she didn’t want to run out of reading material, so that was a no. She was a bit afraid of touching the kitchen. She wasn’t a horrible cook, but the incident with the microwave scared her a bit.

She glanced at the TV. Nari was watching something called a ‘cartoon’, but Morgana wasn’t interested. She sighed.

“Morgana? Why the long face?” Archie asked as he stretched himself and curled on the loveseat to her right.

“I’m just bored, I guess. I need something to occupy my mind on. I can’t stay in this apartment forever!”

Archie tapped his chin. “Consider getting a job?”

Morgana stared.

“I know, I know. You are royalty. But times change. Maybe a job will satisfy you.” He mentioned. Morgana seemed to think about it. “Douxie needs to work at least two jobs to make ends meet. With you three added, I don’t know how he juggles his new responsibilities and all of you.”

“…are we making a dent in his pocket?” Morgana asked in a small voice.

Archie sighed. “I’ll be honest. Douxie is a humble young man and quite generous too. But he hides his problems so not to worry others. It’s not mostly in the financial aspect and you and Merlin have been helping with that, but rather that he is not resting well. He spends most of his time teaching you all how to live in the modern world, helping in Trollmarket and working his job as a waiter and handling the bookstore downstairs. Not to mention band practice for gigs. If you are making a dent in anything, is his time, mostly.”

Morgana smiled. “What if I handle the bookstore?”

Archie stared. “The bookstore? Well, it is not a hard job and it could give Douxie some needed down time. Plus, it will give you something to focus on! Brilliant as always, my dear.”

“When will Douxie be returning? I’ll speak to him about it.”

“Well, he usually arrives—”

The front door opened and Douxie stepped inside the apartment with a tired face. He smelled like burnt coffee and old bread.

“—about now.”

Morgana smiled at the boy. “Hello, Douxie. How was your morning shift?”

“Awful.” Douxie went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. He drank half of it in less than ten seconds. “This bloody lady ordered a ginormous breakfast for her and her family and didn’t leave a tip! Someone spilled coffee on my shirt and insisted it was my fault for standing in the way! Then I had a table with a crying baby that BIT ME! I swear, they have a goblin for a child!” He facepalmed. “Between other things…” He mumbled.

“You are handling the bookstore now, right?” Morgana asked.

“Yeah… but I’m taking a shower first.”

“Maybe I can help!” The Pale Lady eagerly exclaimed. “I was just talking to Archie and decided that I wanted to help. Plus, I need something to do, I can’t be stuck here forever with Merlin as company.”

From inside his room, Merlin yelled: “I heard that!”

Douxie smiled. “If you really want to, then sure! I’ll teach you the ropes.” He made his way towards his room. “But first, shower.”

“Yes, please.” Archie covered his nose. “You smell like old onions.” Douxie just flipped him the bird.

An hour later, Morgana and Douxie were inside the bookstore as Douxie explained the basics. “This is quite simple. Books are organized by alphabetical order and numeric order. The best sellers go up front the store.”

“Seems simple.” Morgana said as she levitated two boxes full of books.

“Any questions with the cash register?” Said Douxie, momentarily remembering how Morgana stared at the cash register like it was an alien.

“No.” Morgana smiled.

“Perfect. I will go back upstairs and take a nap. Call me if you need anything.” He was about to leave when he turned to her. “And Morgana?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

She smiled at him. “No, Douxie. You’ve helped me so much, it’s the least I can do, and I get to learn new things!”

The day had been smooth for Morgana. There weren’t many customers, but those that came were enchanted by the bookstore. Many came to check out the “wizard’s bookstore” as they called it and left with a book or two. A few male customers had simply passed by to flirt with Morgana, whom she “kindly” levitated out of the bookstore ( _more like threw them across the street with her magic_ ). A couple of hours in found Mary and Darci walking by the store when they saw Morgana working inside.

“Morgana!” They called as they entered.

“Hello, girls! How are you?”

“We’re good. You got a job at the bookstore, I see.” Darci said as she picked a book from a shelf.

“Yes, I needed something to occupy my mind.” The Pale Lady said as she wrote down a list of books needed to be ordered. “Douxie was quite generous in letting me work.”

“Speaking of Mr. Sexy Wizard, where is he?” Mary asked as she looked around.

“Mary!” Darci facepalmed.

Morgana chuckled. “He’s taking a nap upstairs.”

“Wait,” Said Darci. “You guys live here!?”

Morgana nodded. “On the third floor. Merlin is there with Nari as well.”

Mary started taking pictures of the bookstore. “Not only this is an enchanted bookstore, but really powerful mages live here too! I am so getting this bookstore some publicity.”

The day went by and before Morgana knew it, it was closing time. She smiled at herself for a job well done. She felt happy and whole, something she hadn’t felt like in a while. Her therapist would be proud. “Well, that was fun.” She said with a satisfied nod.

OOO

Nari was a creature of nature. As much fun as it was watching Netflix and eating sweets, the cabin fever was starting to get on to her. Douxie had promised her to go to the park, but the poor boy had been so busy with them, Trollmarket reconstruction and work, she didn’t have the heart to tell him. She rested her chin on her hand. Even though she knew her way there as the park was just a ten-minute walk from the apartment, she couldn’t go alone, she needed an escort. If Douxie couldn’t take her, maybe Morgana could.

She frowned. Nope. Morgana was off to see her therapist, and, in the afternoon, she worked downstairs at the bookstore. If she asked to go in the weekend, maybe Morgana will take her, she was free. But Nari wanted to go now!

She let her face hit the table with no remorse.

“Nari? Why are you hitting that table with your face?”

Nari looked up and smiled. Merlin! He could take her! And he was probably the perfect escort! “TAKE ME TO THE PARK!” She said a bit abruptly. Merlin stared. She blushed out of embarrassment. “I really need to get out, Merlin. I’m getting sick of being stuck here.”

“But you go to Trollmarket, Nari. You are not stuck here.” He said as he adjusted his vest and newsboy cap.

“But I go there to help! I want to go out to have fun and relax!”

Merlin sighed. “Well… I suppose it could do us both some good.”

The pair set off to the park, where Nari ran towards the nearby swings. Arcadia residents nearby glanced at the strange creature, but not the weirdest thing they had seen. Merlin sat at one of the benches nearby watching towards the playground.

“Merlin?”

Merlin turned his head and saw Jim walking towards him. “Ah, Trollhunter. It’s a fine day to be outside.”

“It is.” Said Jim. “What are you doing here? I must admit, it’s kind of weird seeing you out here just being normal.”

Merlin pointed at the playground, where Nari had taken to the slides. “I’m taking Nari outside for a few hours. She was complaining of staying inside all day long.”

To Merlin’s surprise, Jim sat beside him. “Yeah, I get her. I’m here for the same reason too. I can’t be inside a house with a grumpy changeling, a tired mom and a baby who just wouldn’t go to sleep all night.” He chuckled. “I needed some alone time.”

“Ah yes, the baby. Reminds me when Arthur and Morgana were quite young.”

“Do tell.”

Merlin glanced at him before speaking. “I was the court mage to King Uther, Arthur and Morgana’s father. The job was fine by me, until Arthur and Morgana were old enough to walk.” He groaned. “Arthur was a fighter and would cause trouble, but not as much as Morgana, for she was the youngest. On one occasion, when she was even smaller than Nari, brought a frog to my workshop. I wouldn’t mind it on any other day, but she seemed to think it was funny to throw the frog at my face.”

“That doesn’t seem too bad.” Jim struggled to keep a straight face.

Merlin sighed. “She threw the frog at my face **_while_** I was working with a dangerous potion.” He corrected.

“Oh…”

“I never figured her intentions when she threw that frog at me. She was a nightmare child back in the day.” He adjusted his newsboy cap. “She is working at the bookstore.”

“Oh, Douxie let her?”

“Yes, I think all of us needed something to do.” He glanced at Jim for a moment, before clearing his throat. “How exactly did you arrive here, by foot?”

“No. By bike.” Jim pointed at his old bike resting against the nearest tree.

“Ahhh…” He scratched his head in silence and watched Nari jump from one tree to another and then back to the swings. “Listen, Jim…”

Jim turned to look at him.

“I am an arsehole by nature.”

Jim rolled his eyes. “I think everybody knows that…” He mumbled.

“I am trying to apologize to you.”

Jim did a double take. “What…”

Merlin sighed. “I made you make a choice were there was no turning back. I was sure you would never turn back to human. I don’t know what power or spell Lady Claire used to turn you back, but if I knew it, I would have used it on you as soon as Gunmar was defeated.” He placed a hand on Jim’s shoulder. “I won’t go back on what I did. It is done and surely, you would have died in that battle. I put a great weight on your shoulders, but like I said before, my amulet didn’t make mistakes. Just know, that I am deeply sorry.”

Jim could only stare. He was shocked that Merlin out of all people was apologizing to him. He looked back at where Nari was currently playing, the sandbox. “I…”

Merlin held up a hand. “Don’t. I have said what I had to say. I owned it to you. Just don’t expect me to apologize to everyone else.”

Jim Looked at Merlin and gave him a tiny smile. “I appreciate it, Merlin. Thank you.”

OOO

Steve had been sleeping very little after he started lessons with Nimue. His mother had started to notice. Coach had started to notice. Even Krel started to notice and that guy didn’t seem to care much for him!

He was tired and he wanted to sleep. But his mother told him to do his chores and take out the trash. He grabbed the bags and took them outside. Seeing as the trashcans were full, he opted to leave the bags right beside them. Screw the raccoons, he was tired and wanted to go to sleep.

Suddenly, his senses went haywire. On instinct, he turned and stretched his right arm in front of him, successfully stopping the water blast directed at him. He willed the water towards the front yard. Out of the bushes right beside his house, Nimue emerged. She struggled a bit to get rid of some vines stuck in her horns and gray hair before turning to Steve and smiled.

“Well done, Steve!”

“Nimue! What are you doing here? Someone will see you!”

Nimue scoffed. “Like they haven’t seen weirder things.”

“But seriously, what are you doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I wanted to surprise you! I wanted to check how far your training is going. Seems you have a good grasp of your surroundings.” She opened the trashcan and started searching for something to eat, she was still half troll after all.

Steve sighed. “Yeah, well, when aliens, wizards and trolls have tried to kill you, it’s something you develop.”

Nimue had found a soda can and ate it. She moaned at the flavor. “Cherry Coke soda can, my favorite…” She spoke with her mouth full as she searched for another one.

Steve made a mental note to carefully gather those specific soda cans for Nimue. Suddenly, he was hit over the head with Nimue’s staff. “Ow! Hey!” He rubbed the spot.

“You are thinking too much.” She closed the lid of the trashcan. She walked closer to him, her white armor glimmering with the moon’s light. “What’s wrong?”

Steve sighed. “Can we just… lay off on the training for two nights or something? I really need to sleep, and school is starting soon. If it doesn’t get cancelled again…”

“Is that all?”

“Um… yeah?”

“Why didn’t you say so? I would have ended the training sessions earlier than usual!” Nimue noticed Steve looked away. “Steve…” She gently pushed his chin towards her with her index finger. As she took a closer look of his face, she noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes. “Why?”

“It’s just… I don’t want to disappoint you, ok!?” He looked away. “I disappoint everybody! And sure, I have not been the greatest guy in the past, but I just ask for a chance! And then you appeared, you tell me I have this awesome power and suddenly, I felt important and useful and—” He stopped and sighed. “I just, whatever this is, I don’t want to mess up, so I’m giving it my all…”

Nimue looked up to the moon. “Steve. We are all important to the balance of this world. Some of us may have bigger roles in the grand picture. But those destinies cannot be reached without the people we meet along the way.” She looked back at the boy. “You may or may not have a grand destiny, but you still have an important role.”

“But what is that role?”

Nimue smiled at him. “You will figure it out. After all, what’s life without a little mystery?”

Steve chuckled. “True. Does this mean I get to call you grandma now?”

“Hehehe… no.” She glared.

OOO

Jim woke up the next morning and had readied breakfast for everyone. Omelets for him and his mom, an omelet of troll cuisine for Strickler and baby Walter’s formula. They ate silently, Barbara and Strickler praised his cooking skills, like every other morning.

Then the doorbell rang.

Jim stood up. “I’ll get it.” He peeked through the peephole, but there was no one there. He still opened the door to have a look around. He stopped dead at his tracks.

There was a brand new, red Vespa in front of his house.

Jim blinked twice. “What the…” He stepped closer to the Vespa. It was the newest model out in the market. On top of the front lights, there was a small envelope. Jim carefully took it and read what was inside.

_“Dear Trollhunter,_

_I had forgotten during our conversation yesterday to apologize for destroying your method of transportation without remorse. I was not aware of the sentimental value it had to you. Accept this gift. It will never replace the one you had, but I hope it is a sign of good things to come._

_Sincerely, Merlin_

_PS: Spare me my pride and don’t thank me in person._

_PS #2: **I MEAN IT**.”_

Jim was in literal tears. He brought a hand to his mouth as he let the tears of happiness flow. “Mom!” He called. “Mom! Come quick!” He went inside to get her.

Just a few meters away from the Lake residency, five pairs of eyes peeked through the bushes.

“Do you think he liked it?” Merlin asked.

“Liked it? He is ecstatic!” Douxie answered.

“Look at him, he is so happy.” Morgana mentioned as the boy got out of the house with his mother and showed her the Vespa.

“His soul is fluttering with joy.” Nari gave a happy sigh. “It makes me want to cry out of happiness…” Nari said as she wiped her eyes.

“Nari, don’t cry…” Archie sniffed. “You’ll make me cry too!” He sniffed a couple of time before wiping the tears away.

Douxie patted Merlin on the back. “You made a good call, Merlin.”

Merlin smiled back and turned to look back at Jim just in time to see the boy put on a helmet and drive around the street to test his Vespa. He stopped right in front of Toby’s house, who quickly got out and was ogling over the Vespa. Toby grabbed a helmet and got behind Jim. “Step on it, Jim!” The boys were off, most likely to Claire’s house.

“It was the least I could do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review!


	12. Lights Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storm rages through Arcadia, leaving the wizards stuck at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. It's weird of me to publish two days in a row. But i felt like it. 
> 
> The angst starts at the END of this chapter, because I am not holding back on the next one.

_A few weeks later…_

Troll Market had been finally finished, just a few tiny details left, nothing the trolls alone couldn’t manage. The reconstruction was finished just in time, too.

There was a heavy storm passing through Arcadia. Shops were closed, school was cancelled (again) and everyone was staying inside their homes. Douxie finished a nice warm bath before slipping into comfy an AC/DC T-shirt and sweatpants. He was planning on spending the evening curled up on his bed and watch The Witcher before the sound of a breaking plate made him sigh. He decided to head to the kitchen instead.

Nari was attempting to reach the top cabinet when she heard Douxie come into the kitchen. She looked like a dear caught in the headlights. She glanced at the broken plate on the floor and blushed. “Sorry, I couldn’t reach…”

“Nari, its ok. It’s just a plate.” He grabbed a broom and sweep the broken pieces to a corner to be picked later. Then he reached the cabinet and grabbed a plate for Nari. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, Douxie.”

“What were you getting to eat? It is something sweet, you’ve been eating candy a bit too much.”

Nari shrugged. “It doesn’t really affect me.”

Douxie stared. “Do I have to mention the time just last week that you were jumping off the walls? Quite literary?”

_(Flashback)_

_They were gathering at Toby’s house for a movie night. Merlin had opted to stay home and let Nari go on the condition that Douxie took care of her. Morgana had been invited to the Lake residency for a girl’s night with Barbara and Nomura._

_Nana Domzalski had brought pop tarts for everyone, including Nari. To her, this was the first time she tried them. One turned into five and then ten and before everyone knew it, there was a little nature goddess literary jumping off the walls and the ceiling after eating fifty pop tarts._

_Movie night soon turned into a “Catch-the-sugar-high-Nari” game._

_They found her passed out in Nana’s cat’s litter box._

_(End of Flashback)_

Nari looked down. “It wasn’t that bad…”

“Nari, you ate fifty pop tarts. _Fifty_.” He emphasized.

“But they are so good!!! Just one!” Nari tried to reach the pop tart box, but Douxie took out of her reach.

“I’m starting to believe we should regulate what you are eating.” Said Douxie. “Which surprises me, because your whole existence is about nature. I had assumed you knew how to eat healthy and all that.”

“Healthy is overrated.” Nari frowned. “Give me the pop tart!”

“No.”

“Gimme!”

“Nari, I said no.”

Nari frowned. “Merlin!” She ran off. “Douxie doesn’t want to give me pop tarts!”

Douxie followed. “Merlin! It’s for her own good!”

Merlin opened the door to his room. He was dressed in green button up pajamas with matching pants and a matching sleep hat, like the old-fashioned ones. “Stop acting like children!”

“He doesn’t let me eat pop tarts!” Nari pointed at Douxie.

“She ate fifty of them last week!” Douxie pointed back. “And you know what happened!”

Merlin facepalmed. “Hisirdoux, give her a pop tart.”

“Didn’t you just hear me!?”

“Yes, I heard you.” He looked down at Nari. “And if you eat one now, that means there are no more pop tarts for you this week.”

Nari’s face dropped. “But…”

“You might be a powerful nature goddess, but everyone has their limits with how much they can take.”

Nari gave him the puppy eyes. Merlin bit his cheek. “Fine, two. But no more during the week!”

“Yes!” Nari ran off to the kitchen.

Douxie stared at Merlin. “You realize she has you wrapped around her pinky, right?”

Merlin looked away. “Shut up.”

Later, Douxie knocked on Morgana’s door. The sorceress opened her room. She was dressed in red shorts, with her hair in a lose bun and with an oversized white shirt that said, “ _If you think I’m a Bitch, you should see my brother_ ”. It was a gift from Claire. Douxie thought it was quite funny, considering who her brother was.

“Nice shirt.” Commented Douxie.

“Thank you. I must say, Claire has a peculiar sense of humor.” Said Morgana. “She has one as well, referring to NotEnrique.”

“The shirt stands for the truth, though.”

Morgana nodded. “Do you need anything?”

Douxie smiled. “I was thinking if you wanted to see a movie in the living room with me and Archie. Nari is waiting for us, she’s making popcorn.”

“And Merlin?”

“I was going to use the popcorn as bait.” He said, recalling a moment last week that Merlin discovered popcorn. Douxie knew the wizard will never admit it, but it was obvious it had become his new favorite snack.

Morgana laughed. “Then it’s settled. Shall I make some hot chocolate?”

“Sure! I’ll make sure Merlin takes the bait.” He pulled out a bag of popcorn.

Morgana frowned. “Are you going to wrap it with a string and make him follow it?” They stared at each other for a moment before bursting in laughter.

“He would never fall for that!”

Nari was choosing the movie since she had become quite the expert in Netflix. Archie made himself comfortable in the loveseat with a can of salmon in front of him. In the coffee table they had placed five mugs of hot chocolate, two large bowls of popcorn and a large bag of Doritos. Morgana grabbed her mug and sat on the couch with a blanket over her shoulders.

“I’m not going! I am staying in my room and read!” She heard from the hallway.

“Merlin, chill out! It’s just a movie!”

“No.”

“We have popcorn, but if you don’t want to go, that’s fine. We’ll eat it all.”

There was a moment of silence before she heard and answer. “Fine…”

All three wizards, plus a dragon-cat and a nature goddess curled up on the couch while Nari still scrolled pass the vast selection of series and movies. “Is there something you guys want to watch?”

“You choose…” Said Douxie and he sipped on his hot coco.

“I could care less.” Merlin mentioned and he eyed the popcorn.

As they debated what they would watch, the lights stared flickering and suddenly, they were out. Loud thunders could be heard outside. Lighting was visible from the window. The wizards stayed in their place, no one dared to move a muscle until Douxie sighed. He stood up and walked towards the light switch, which was not working.

“What just happened? Are we under attack?” Morgana said.

“No, no… the storm must have cut the power source. Which means, no movie for us.” Said Douxie.

Nari fell to her knees threw her hands up. “NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!”

Archei rolled his eyes. “Come now, it is not that bad. It’s a minor setback. The power will be back before you know it.”

“In the meantime,” Douxie conjured five candles and placed them in the middle of the coffee table. “This should work as a light source.”

“What should we do while we wait?” Morgana asked as she adjusted her blanket.

“Tell scary stories, perhaps.” Nari mumbled.

“Not a bad idea, Nari. But I doubt anything will scare us more than the Arcane Order.” Archie mentioned and he grabbed a bite of his canned salmon.

“Well, who should start?” Morgana grabbed a Dorito. “Merlin?”

The wizard groaned. “Fine. Here is my story. Her name is Nimue. The end.” Merlin ate popcorn and said nothing more.

Douxie stared. “You are afraid of the Lady of the Lake?”

“She is a literal monster, after all.” Merlin looked away as he subconsciously grabbed a fistful of popcorn. “And she ate me.”

Douxie rolled his eyes. “With proper reason! You trapped her inside a cave!” He sat down on the floor next to Nari.

“For her own protection! She was one of the few magical creatures I could protect.”

“Didn’t seem that way to her…” Archie mentioned. “She was hellbent on getting revenge on you.”

“This is nonsense! Can we do something else?” Merlin said as he went for another fistful of popcorn.

“Sure.” Douxie smirked. “THERE SHE IS AT THE WINDOW!!!”

“WHERE!?” Merlin spilled his popcorn, summoned his staff and pointed it at the window, but there was nothing there. The group laughed at the master wizard’s expense. He glared at them but said nothing. He grabbed a book and held it close to his face, pretending he was reading to hide his blush of embarrassment.

“Douxie,” Archie called. “Why don’t you play something?”

“If he is using that infernal red lute he hit me with, he better not.” Morgana said.

“It’s not infernal!” Douxie argued.

“You almost blew our eardrums. It absolutely is…” Merlin mumbled behind his book.

Archie flew into Douxie’s room and brought back Douxie’s acoustic guitar. “Here, play this instead. It’s a little softer on their ears.” He deposited the guitar in Douxie’s lap. The younger master wizard sighed and started to tune it.

“I like it.” Said Nari as she admired the acoustic guitar.

“Thanks, it was a present from Zoe.”

Morgana smirked. “A present from Zoe. Interesting…”

Douxie frowned. “Come on, not now…” He started to play a small tune. They stayed like that for a while. Just listening to Douxie playing, eating, doing small talk. It was the most relaxed the wizards had been in a long time. The soft melodies from the guitar echoed across the apartment and seemed to mute the thunderstorm outside.

“You have gotten better.” Merlin commented as he turned the page from his book.

“900 year is a long time to get better at various instruments.” Archie chuckled. “Of course, I don’t have to mention the bagpipes, do I?”

“Archie, please. That’s the one instrument I want to forget.” Douxie rolled his eyes. He hummed at the rhythm of the song he was playing. He glanced at the candle flames. For a moment, his mind went off to a time he'd rather forget. A time full of blood and fire and too much fear...

_Douxie ran across the forest with Zoe in his arms and Archie flying above them. An angry mob trailing behind them with torches and fire. Zoe was losing consciousness due to the burn injuries on her legs. They looked ugly and bloody. Arrows started to fly past them and Douxie attempted to lose them until he got one right on the shoulder--_

Suddenly, his phone started ringing, bringing the wizard back from his trance. He stopped playing and retrieved his phone from the coffee table. “It’s Jim. I wonder if everything is alright.” He answered. “Hello?”

“ _Douxie! Have you seen Claire!? Is she with you!_?”

“No, what happened?” Douxie put his guitar aside.

“ _NotEnrique called me! He said Ophelia had a really nasty fight with Claire and she ran away in the middle of the storm!_ ” Jim sounded frantic on the other side of the phone.

“She what NOW!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not holding back on the angst on the next chapter.


	13. Into the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a hurtful fight with her mother, Claire runs away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a shitty week. I hate 2020. Trust me. Here's the update I wanted to do, but stuff got in the way. Enjoy!

The lights went out just when the Nunez family was setting the table for their family dinner. Javier had taken out the candles and Claire insisted she could light them with her magic, to which Javier was fascinated by the purple fire.

“How interesting! You said your teacher showed you this?”

“Yep. He hasn’t had the time to show me more advanced stuff, but I learned from a book he gave me!” Claire said with pride. She lit one of her fingers with purple flames and quickly banished them.

“Can he make magical chorizo?” Javier gasped. “Can YOU!?”

Claire laughed. “I don’t think so…”

Ophelia glanced from afar.

They put the food on the table and baby Enrique was put on his highchair next to Ophelia. They ate in silence. Nothing out of the ordinary. The only out of place noise was NotEnrique eating socks and being particularly noisy about it.

“The smellier, the better!” He said.

“NotErique, eewww!!!”

Ophelia stared wearily at the candles. “SO, Claire. Are you considering any colleges?”

Claire poked at her steak. “I’m not sure.”

Ophelia frowned. “What do you mean?”

Claire sighed. “I’m part of a different world now and I have so many new responsibilities with trolls and magic and Douxie is teaching me. I just don’t think college is in my plans anymore. I don’t know, maybe I’ll make the time later.”

Javier smiled. “Maybe a community college? It doesn’t have to be something big. Just a back up in case the magic thing doesn’t work. Right, _mi amor_?” He turned to Ophelia.

She glared. “Community college? Really, Javier?”

“I went to community college when I immigrated here…” He stated.

“This is stupid.” Ophelia turned to Claire. “You have the path set before you, Claire. Take it.”

Claire glared. “Mom, I have other plans.”

“That include trolls, magic and every other nonsense I can think of? And what has that boy Douxie been teaching you? Gibberish. No, I forbid it. What will people think about you? You have so much potential!”

Claire scoffed. “It’s always about what people will think, isn’t it?”

“Claire, I am soon to be mayor if I win the election. Me and my family have to set an example.”

“Of what, if I may ask?” Claire glared. “You just hate things you can’t control, and you can’t control me!”

“I never said that!”

“It’s what you’re implying!”

“Enough!” Javier shouted. “Claire, don’t speak to your mother like that and Ophelia, our daughter has chosen a path in life and we must respect that.”

“Her path is _bullshit_!” Ophelia shouted. “You had a life ahead of you, Claire! Why throw that away!?”

“I’m not throwing anything away! I just chose another way, one that you obviously don’t like!” Claire’s irises had a hit of purple in them. “I am one of the most powerful witches of my age and I am the apprentice of a master wizard! I took down a sorceress hellbent on revenge and I fought two wars!!! Aren’t you proud of me!?”

“No!” Ophelia slammed her hands on the table. There was silence. “When we let you go off with the trolls to New Jersey, I thought it was mostly a summer trip and it would end there. But no, you decided to do all sorts of crazy things and become… THIS.” She motioned Claire. “Even your hair changed and that’s not normal! Just leave this behind and go back to the way things were.”

“So, you just want me to be normal!? It’s that it!? Because I’m still the same Claire from before, only with white hair and magical powers.” Claire tried to calm herself. “I am my own person, mom. What I became I can’t undo! I decided to go with Jim and the trolls to help them—"

“So, you are throwing away everything for a boy?”

Claire frowned. “This is not about Jim!”

“He dragged you into this!”

“Ophelia, stop!” Javier pleaded, but Ophelia ignored him. NotEnrique went up to Enrique’s highchair to calm down the baby.

“You have no idea what he has gone through! He saved Enrique and threw everything away to save us! He saved my life too many times! He didn’t drag me into this! With Enrique kidnapped, we were already involved!” Claire exclaimed. “He wouldn’t have been kidnapped if you PAID MORE ATTENTION YOUR CHILDREN!!!” She raised her voice. The purple fire in the candles shot up and her eyes were black and purple. “Are you afraid of me? Is that it!?”

“You are not normal, Claire! What if you turn into some evil sorceress like that Morgana! You just went and offered her your friendship!” Ophelia yelled. “That woman is a danger!”

“She made amends and she’s getting therapy, leave her and Jim out of this conversation!” Claire yelled back. “You just care of what people may think or if it benefits your image and your career! You’re afraid of what you can’t control!”

Ophelia stood up and slammed her hands on the table. At this point, they couldn’t hear the thunder due to the heated conversation. “WHAT I CARE IS THAT I HAVE A **MONSTER** FOR A DAUGHTER!!!”

Silence.

The candle fire went off. Claire’s eyes changed back to normal, tears fell as the stared at her mother. “What did you say…” She asked in a small voice.

Javier stood and glared at Ophelia, who still glared at Claire. “OPHELIA!!! How dare you say such things!?”

“Go to your room.” Ophelia whispered.

“What…” NotEnrique asked.

Ophelia pointed at the staircase. “I said go to your room! NOW!!!”

“But, mom—”

“Ophelia—"

“NOW!!!”

Claire shut off her chair and made a run to the front door, NotEnrique jumped from the highchair to follow her. The young witch opened the door wide and ran down the street in the stormy night. Her clothes were already getting wet. Her tears mixed with the heavy rain and her hair sticking to her forehead. Thunder echoed through the skies.

“BIG SIS!!!” NotEnrique called after her. He ran and panted, his stone skin wetting against the rain. “Don’t go!!!”

Claire ignored him and quickly opened a shadow portal in front of her. NorEnrique quickened his pace to catch up to her, but Claire had already gone through the portal and closed it behind her. NotEnrique stopped.

“Wait for me…” He ran his fingers through his wet scruff. “Holy shit… HOLY SHIT!!!” He yelled. “I have to call Jim!!!” He raced back to the house. He busted through the front door to find Ophelia and Javier having a shouting match with each other in the dark dining room and a crying baby Enrique on his highchair. He ran upstairs and searched for his own phone. He quickly dialed Jim’s number.

After a few rings, the boy finally answered. “ _Hello? NotEnrique_?” The changeling could hear Strickler scoff on the other side of the phone line.

“We have an emergency!!! Big Sis is missing!!!”

“ _She’s what!?_ ”

NotEnrique explained what had happened as fast as he could. “—then she opened a portal and went off! I don’t know where she went!!!” NotEnrique sniffed.

Jim took a moment to think. “ _I’ll call Douxie, maybe she went there! If not, I’ll tell the others to organize a search party_!”

OOO

Claire stepped through the shadow portal and ended in the Shadow Realm. It was quiet. There wasn’t a storm raging, nothing. Claire floated aimlessly. She sobbed, the severity of the situation finally weighting in. Why was her mother like this? Why couldn’t she just accept that things had changed?

Claire curled herself in a fetal position. It wasn’t fair, none of it was. She loved her magic, she loved who she had become. She had done wonderful and extraordinary things, but to her mother, that wasn’t enough.

She screamed.

An explosion of purple magic shook the Shadow Realm as a whole.

OOO

Morgana gasped. Something wasn’t right.

Everybody had gone out into the storm to find Claire, but no one had such luck. She was out with Douxie, both wearing long raincoats and flashlights. Merlin, Nari and Archie opted to stay inside just in case Claire decided to stop at Douxie’s.

“Douxie.” She turned to the boy. The storm had settled down a bit, but it was still a downpour. “I’m going to the Shadow Realm.” She summoned her staff.

“Right, she might be there.”

“Yes, but… there’s something else…” Morgana trailed off. “I have this feeling that won’t go away. I need to get her.”

“Go, if you find her, bring her to the apartment. It’s the closest place for her to rest.” Said Douxie. “I’ll call Jim if you find her.”

Morgana nodded, opened a portal to the Shadow Realm and entered. To her big surprise, something was… different. The place wasn’t different itself, but more like how it felt. Previously, she wouldn’t feel anything in this realm, but now, she felt sadness, grief and anger in the air. She floated around, calling Claire’s name.

“Claire!? It’s me, Morgana!”

She heard sniffing. She flew over a giant rock and saw her. Morgana gasped. Claire’s whole body seemed to be consumed by dark and purple magic, giving her the appearance of a spectrum. She flew towards the girl. “Claire!”

Claire looked up. Her eyes shone a dangerous purple shade. “What are you doing here!?” She wiped her eyes with her sleeves. “Go away, I want to be alone!”

Morgana glanced at the girl sadly. “You don’t have to be, Claire.”

“But I want to…” She whispered between sobs. Magic kept swirling around her.

Morgana took a moment to think. Magic was emotion, mastery over life. Claire’s magic was too unstable now, too unpredictable and raw. She needed to address this carefully. “Claire, everyone is looking for you.”

“So I can go back to that hellhole!? No thanks!” She turned, her back facing Morgana.

“No, no. Claire…” Morgana flew closer to the girl. “We want to take you somewhere safe. You don’t have to face your mother… not yet, anyways…”

Claire floated quietly without saying a word.

“We are worried about you, Claire.” Said the Pale Lady. “Jim has been looking for you.”

“Jim?” That seemed to get her attention. She glances at Morgana over her shoulder. The mini storm of raw magic started to slowly fade away.

“Yes, he called everybody to help search for you. I believe he took his Vespa and rode around town looking for you in the storm. Douxie and I were on the streets when I felt your presence here.” She extended her hand to the girl. “Come with me. You don’t have to go back but let me help you. Like you helped me…”

Claire looked at Morgana’s hand for a moment before throwing herself into the sorceress’s arms. She wailed and sobbed. Morgana caressed her hair. “It is all right, my child.”

“She said I was a **monster**!!!” She cried against Morgana’s shoulder.

Something broke inside Morgana, memories of times when she had been called the same resurfaced. “You are not a monster. I have met my fair share of them during my lifetime, but you are not one of them.” She hugged the girl tightly. “People can often be afraid of what they cannot understand. I would know… You are a special girl, Claire. You are smart and talented, and you know your worth. If your mother can’t accept that, then it’s on her.”

They floated there for what it seemed like ages. Claire’s magic slowly fading away, a sign of the storm inside of her finally settling down. Her sobs ceased.

“Are you better?”

Claire shrugged, still looking down.

“Come on. We agreed to meet at the bookstore if I found you.”

“OK…” She whispered. Morgana slid an arm over the girl’s shoulders and with her staff opened a portal inside the bookstore. They stepped through the portal and Nari quickly greeted them. The little goddess had been waiting anxiously for their return.

“Here!” Nari handed a towel to Claire. The girl took it with trembling hands. Once Claire put on the towel, Nari gently took her hand and guided her upstairs to the apartment.

“Is Douxie upstairs?” Morgana asked Nari.

“No, he is still out there looking for Claire.”

Morgana nodded and took out her phone. “Can you take her to dry up? I’ll give him a quick call.”

Nari gently pushed Claire inside the apartment, where she was greeted by Archie. “Claire! What a relief! Thank goodness you are here.” He rubbed his body against her leg.

“Hey, Archie…” She whispered.

“Lady Claire. It’s good to have you with us.” Merlin called from the kitchen. “Nari has already prepared shower for you. I’ll prepare you some ginger tea.”

“Thanks, guys.”

After a quick shower, Claire put up some pajamas Morgana let her borrow while her own clothes dried. They were a bit bigger than her, but comfortable. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. Ignoring her tired reflection, Claire opened the door and headed into the living room.

“Claire!” Douxie called as he took off his raincoat. “Thank heavens. We looked for you everywhere! I guess we should have started with the Shadow Realm to begin with.” He scratched his head. “I had to call Jim and reassure him fifteen times to go back home and pick you up in the morning.”

Claire gave him a sad smile. “It’s alright.” She said she they both sat on the couch. “I like your place.”

“Thanks.”

Merlin walked over (still in his pajamas, mind you) and handed Claire a cup of ginger tea. He quickly excused himself and retrieved to his room. Douxie glared after him but said nothing. Morgana had gone to take a shower herself and Nari had fallen asleep on the floor along with Archie.

They sat in silence. The only sounds they could hear the thunder outside and Claire sipping on the tea. “I would say you can stay here for as long as you want, but Jim clearly stated by phone that he demanded that I brought you to his house in the morning.” He chuckled. “He said he has an extra room and his mother wants to do a check up on you.”

Claire merely nodded, hiding her face behind her hair.

Douxie sighed. “Claire. I know this is hard. But we are here for you.”

Claire sniffed. “She called me a monster… my own mother…” She whispered. Douxie slid an arm over the girl’s shoulders and hugged her close to him. The girl started to sob. “I just don’t understand, Douxie.” She sniffed.

“I understand you, Claire. My parents weren’t so kind, either.” Douxie whispered to her. “They kicked me out as soon as I showed signs of magic.”

“…I’m sorry, Douxie.”

“It’s in the past, don’t worry.” Said Douxie. “Just so you know, you are not alone. You have friends that love you and want to help you.” He hugged her tightly. “You got us fellow wizards all cooped up in this apartment. Even Merlin in all his ‘ _jerk-ass_ ’ glory. Sometimes, we don’t stand each other, but we are here for you.” He smiled.

Claire giggled. “Thanks, Douxie. You know, you’re like the big brother I never had.”

Douxie smirked. “Does being an honorary big brother include all the teasing and chasing away the boys?”

“Don’t push it.”

Douxie leaned against the couch. “Claire, sometimes we say things we really don’t mean. Your mother may fear what she doesn’t understand, but I’m sure she loves you.”

Claire scoffed. “Well, she can take all her love and shove it in her—"

Morgana emerged from the bathroom and walked towards the pair. “Well, as lovely as this is, I believe it’s time to go to sleep. Claire, you can sleep in my room. I can conjure up another bed.”

Claire stood up. “Alright. Good night, Douxie.”

“Good night, Claire. Good night, Morgana.”

Morgana guided the young witch to her room. Upon opening the door, Claire stared at the décor. There was a large four post bed, the room seemed bigger than what it probably was. A work desk at the far corner, a large bookstand as the window was stained glass. What really took Claire’s breath, however, was the ceiling. It appeared to be the real night sky with stars and constellations.

“It’s beautiful…”

“Like it? It’s a simple illusion charm. I can teach it to you some other time.” Said Morgana as she conjured a full bed beside hers. “Here. You can sleep here.”

Claire walked up to the bed and sat down. It was softer than the bed she had back home. Morgana handed her a blanket and turned to pull the covers from her own bed. “If you need anything, don’t be afraid to wake me up.”

“Wait…” Claire called. Morgana turned to look at her. “When my magic went out of control in the Shadow Realm, I saw something… I’m not sure if it’s just my head playing tricks on me. Maybe I’m going crazy.”

Morgana sat at the edge of her bed. “Your visions have always led to something, Claire. But the possibility that it was nothing is still in the air. You were in emotional distress. What did you see?”

Claire sighed. “I saw two wizards, I think. It was like my shadow magic solidified the visions into, well, shadows. I couldn’t properly see their faces. One was a woman and the other a man. They were fighting, wizard staffs and everything, but the man killed the woman. Then, I saw a boy… about my height.” She put her hand close to her head to demonstrate. He charged at the man with a green light of sorts. I don’t know what it was… The vision faded after that. There were echoes too. But I couldn’t understand what they were saying.”

Morgana tapped her chin in thought. “I never had the gift of Foresight like Merlin, but it sounds to me this might have happened in the past. Claire, if this is true, then you might have the gift of Hindsight. Hearing echoes in visions is usually related to this ability.”

Claire sniffed. “What’s that?”

“The ability to look into the past. It’s… a complicated ability. Very mysterious and barely any information on it. It can be as uncertain as Foresight.” Said Morgana. “Maybe we should keep this to ourselves for the time being. I’ll investigate it further, see if I can find anything in the magical history books. We can take it to Douxie and Merlin when we have more information.”

Claire nodded.

“We better get some sleep, then. Good night, Claire.”

“Good night, Morgana.”

OOO

One shadow portal later and Douxie, Archie, Morgana and Claire found themselves in front of the Lake house. Claire was about to ring the front bell when Jim opened the door wide and hugged her tightly.

Barbara watched through the window with a frown. Strickler, who was holding baby Walt, sighed. “Claire has always been a wonderful and talented student. Kind and caring to a fault sometimes, but that only made her an amazing human being. I cannot believe Ophelia.” He struggled to feed the baby his formula.

“Me neither. Remind me to slap her next time that I see that woman.”

“Violence never solved anything, my dear.” Said Strickler. He stretched his wings a bit. “But I’ll set up a reminder on my phone. And perhaps, not voting for her on the upcoming elections will rub some salt to the wound.”

Barbara watched the wizards talked to Jim, seemingly explaining further details. Barbara sighed. She prepared her medical supplies to give Claire a checkup. “Javier called this morning. He’s divorcing Ophelia and claiming custody of Claire and Enrique if Ophelia doesn’t back out on the things she said. Claire will be staying here with us.”

Strickler looked up in surprise. “Should we tell Claire?”

Barbara shook her head. “After I give Claire a checkup, I’ll call Javier and let him explain it to her. It’s a family matter.”

The door opened and the group walked in. Jim grabbed Claire’s hand and took her to Barbara while Douxie, Morgana and Archie sat down on the couch with Strickler.

“Claire!” Barbara hugged the girl. “It’s so good to see you. Come on, let’s get you checked over.” She led the girl to the kitchen.

Barbara knew the harshness of the world. She has lived it far too many times and it boiled her blood that Claire had to go through this situation. The checkup was quick, and Barbara cleared the girl from any sickness. After telling her that Javier wanted to speak with her, Barbara left the kitchen to give the girl some needed privacy.

No one really tried to make conversation in the living room.

OOO

“Your mother looked for you last night. We all did.”

Claire looked down. “I don’t want to see her.”

“…I want you to know, _mi amor_ , that this is not your fault.”

Claire sniffed. “But you are divorcing her… you love her.”

“Not yet, it is still up for discussion. I do love your mother very much, but I will do what it takes. If she’s not accepting that our lives will never be normal anymore, then so be it.” Javier sighed on the other side of the phoneline. “But my priority is you. It will always be you and your brother. Wherever you go I will follow. _Te amo mucho, mija_ …”

“I love you too, _papi_ …”

“Barbara offered you a place to stay, while your mother and I sort this out.” He made a pause. “She loves you, as much as I do. She’s just afraid.”

“I…”

“I know it doesn’t excuse her. Not one bit. But we will work it out. We always do. Call me if you need anything. Bye, _mi amor_.”

“Bye.” Claire hang up and placed her phone on the kitchen counter. She buried her face on her hands. She felt like she had no more tears to cry.

She gasped when her eyes suddenly turned a bright purple and saw the materialized shadow of a woman in front of her. It was the same from the vision she had before. This time, the shadow spoke.

“… ** _Claire_** …”

Claire shook her head and the shadow was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, do review! I really want to know if I got this chapter right!


	14. Arrested

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Nari get in trouble with the law and Douxie had enough.  
> Also, Ash Dispersal Pattern makes a cameo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really short and its mostly comedic relief after the angst of the last chapter... and in preparation for the angst of next chapter, Muahahahah!!!!

Merlin was a formidable wizard, one of the most powerful to ever walk this earth. Often, he was a jerk. He liked to call it a personality trait. Morgana liked to call it an excuse to ignore his mistakes.

Douxie called it _bullshit_.

Speaking of said wizard, he stared down at the handcuffed Merlin and the equally handcuffed Nari.

“You two had one job. Now as it turns out, I have to bail you out of jail!”

Nari looked down sadly and Merlin at least had the decency to look ashamed.

“I can’t trust you with anything! It was a simple, mundane TASK!” Merlin and Nari looked anywhere but Douxie’s angered face. “And then you go off and get yourselves arrested!!!”

Detective Scott sighed and stood beside Douxie. “Do you want to know the charges?”

Douxie never stopped glaring at the two of them. “Go on.”

Scott cleared his throat and read the charges from their files. “Property Damage, Credit/Debit Card Fraud, Disturbing the Peace, Vandalism, Shoplifting and Homicide.”

“HOMICIDE!?” Douxie did a double take on the detective.

Scott laughed. “Nah, everything but the last one is true.”

Douxie felt like pulling out Merlin and Nari’s eyeballs and—Nope. That won’t work. He sighed and tried to keep calm. Futile attempt. “I sent you two to the grocery store… TO GET SOME FUCKING MILK!!!”

Merlin finally looked up. “In my defense—” He stopped when Douxie threw him the stink eye. “Never mind.”

Douxie turned to Nari. “And you? From Merlin, I would expect it, but you!?”

Nari sniffed. “I just wanted a cookie. It escalated from there.”

“How does a cookie make you criminals?” Douxie facepalmed.

“That’s where the shoplifting comes from.” Scott offered.

“Hisirdoux, what in the bloody hell is a self-checkout, anyways?”

Douxie groaned. “I believe that’s where the property damage charges come from…”

Scott nodded. “He lit it on fire and the smoke detectors went off. The firemen arrived on time. As for the other charges…” He opened his file again. “As for the Credit/Debit Card Fraud, they were using a card under the name of Hisirdoux Casperan.”

“That would be me. I gave them my card.”

“Oh, alright. Then I guess we can scratch that one off. As for the charges for Disturbing the Peace, they had deemed it appropriate to supercharge a shopping cart with magic and drive it around the grocery store. The cart caused a lot of commotion and many angry customers.”

“Why would you do that!?” Douxie asked. “You were just getting MILK.”

“I didn’t want to push the cart.” Merlin shrugged.

“You didn’t need a cart in the first place!!!” Douxie threw his hands in the air. “It was just milk!”

Scott sighed. “And they vandalized the cheese area.”

To say that Douxie was beyond furious was an understatement. “You know what? I don’t even want to know!”

Merlin and Nari were freed of their handcuffs while Douxie signed all the paperwork needed. He asked Merlin for his card.

“Why?”

“To bail you out.” Douxie groaned. “I am not wasting my savings on this. This is on you. You are Nari’s guardian.” Merlin sighed and gave him his card. “Also,” Douxie added. “I will not be trusting you with my card again.”

“Noted.”

“Archie was right.” Said Douxie as he finished the transaction and they were free to go. “I shouldn’t have trusted you guys alone.”

Merlin and Nari looked away. “We just wanted to help.” Said Nari.

Douxie sighed. “I gave you an amount of trust, thinking you could take care of yourselves, but this… this is just ridiculous. We are back to square one, you two.”

Merlin nodded. “You’re right, Hisirdoux. My apologies.”

“Me too, Douxie. I’m sorry.” Said Nari. “You took us in, and we only failed you.”

Douxie shook his head. “No, guys. I’m sorry. I should have thought about how little time you interacted with the modern world. I shouldn’t have screamed at you like that.” He frowned. “But you were still arrested.”

“Yes, we know.”

“Morgana is going to have a fit when she hears about this.” Douxie shook his head.

“HEY, DOUXIE!!!”

“MY MAN, OVER HERE!!!”

Douxie looked up and saw two familiar faces in one of the cells. A Latina girl with long curly black hair and black leather jacket, dark make-up, ripped jeans and boots. The other was a Caucasian boy with green hair, jean jacket, leather pants and sneakers.

His drummer and his base guitarist for Ash Dispersal Pattern, respectably.

Laura and Woody.

“Hey, Douxie!” Woody greeted.

Douxie stared. “What are you two doing here?”

“Vandalism.” They both said.

“Can you bail us out?” Laura asked. “Come on, chief!”

“If we ask Zoe, she’ll have our heads!” Woody slammed his head on the cell bars.

Douxie crossed his arms. “What exactly did you do?”

Laura and Woody looked at each other. “We kind of… punched a guy.”

“In the balls.” Laura added. “He told me to go back to my country. Man, I’m Puerto Rican. It’s an American colony, I’m an American citizen.”

Woody nodded. “Laura punched him in the balls. Many, many times. And I was cheering her on. We got arrested for it.”

“May his balls rest in pieces…” Laura did the cross sign.

“He kind of had it coming…” Douxie pondered. “But that doesn’t explain the vandalism.”

“We set his car on fire.” Laura and Woody both said.

Laura avoided Douxie’s glare. “We might have gone a bit overboard with that.”

“No regrets, thou—” Laura placed a hand over Woody’s mouth. She shook her head and he blushed.

Douxie growled. “I’m calling Zoe. She can bail you out.”

“NO!”

“MAN, DON’T DO THAT TO US!!!”

Douxie pushed Merlin and Nari out of the police department while flipping his friends the bird. The doors shut behind him. Laura and Woody signed. Laura hit her head against the cells bars several times.

“…Zoe will burn us at the stake and sing kumbaya while doing it while at the same time congratulating us.” Woody mumbled.

“While we burn…” Laura added. She looked up. “If we ever see that guy again, want to throw tomatoes at him.”

“Sure, why not?”

OOO

Steve laughed. “Hey Nimue, check this out!” He showed her his phone and the local news. “Merlin and Nari got arrested for basically destroying the grocery store.”

Nimue stared and slowly, a wicked smile found its way on her face.

“Uh, Nimue? Are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” Nimue kept staring at his phone. “I’m just glad Merlin had it coming.”


	15. Salem Witch Trials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoe remembers traumatic events in her life. She finds that Merlin is still a jerk, but not that much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said before, I am not slowing down with the heartbreak.

_In May 1692, the newly appointed governor of Massachusetts, William Phips, ordered the establishment of a special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide) on witchcraft cases for Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex counties_ _._

_OOO_

Zoe had been a very different person back then. Naïve and dumb. Back when her hair was long and brown.

This was the person that Douxie first got to meet before the grumpy, serious Zoe he knows today.

He had been shot three times in the back with arrows for “ _witchcraft crimes_ ” while he tried to run away with Archie. He was losing too much blood, it weakened him. Zoe found them by chance when she was looking for some herbs. Archie had been unsure of her at first, but with Douxie’s life on the line, he didn’t have much choice but to let the strange hedge witch help them. A hedge witch that specialized in herbology, alchemy and above all, a necromancer.

She took them to her tiny hut, hidden at the edge of the woods. She helped the wizard recover from his wounds and offered a safe place to stay. Quickly, she had become a great friend to Archie and Douxie. Though, her safe heaven had only lasted a few weeks until the villagers came knocking on her door, looking for blood. They took her and grabbed a still weak Douxie and caged Archie.

_Zoe tossed and turned in her bed. The memories flowing through her dreams, corrupting them into nightmares. She accidentally knocked her phone from her nightstand as she tried to grab for something to hold on to._

Zoe gasped as she was tied to the pole. The people looked at her in hatred. She never had done anything to them. She may be a witch, but she was innocent. She had been stripped of her belongings and shoes. Her tears were hot as flames. She was scared. She was going to die.

_Zoe punched her pillows by her nightmare induced fear. Fire… Fire everywhere, too much fire…_

Douxie was still tied and forced on his knees by the villagers, forcing him to watch her burn. Archie tried to escape from his cage.

“ZOE!!!!”

Flames started to surround, engulfing her tiny body. Her legs were the first to burn and her agonizing screams were music to the crowds.

Then, out of nowhere, her guardian angel appeared surrounded in blue flames. Her mind was foggy. She couldn’t breathe. He scooped her in his arms and ran off.

Douxie ran across the forest with Zoe in his arms and Archie flying above them. An angry mob trailing behind them with torches and fire. Zoe was losing consciousness due to the burn injuries on her legs. They looked ugly, raw and bloody. Arrows started to fly past them and Douxie attempted to lose them until he got one right on the shoulder. He tripped and fell along with a weakened Zoe.

“Douxie, your shoulder!”

“I’ll hold them off. Run!”

Zoe stood up to leave, but her legs gave out. Archie flew towards her and nudged her body, encouraging her to get up. Her legs hurt too much.

“Zoe, we have to go!” Douxie said as he pulled out the arrow from his shoulder.

“But Douxie—”

“He will be fine! He’s a mage, he can handle them! You are a hedge witch, you could never—”

But Zoe wasn’t hearing the familiar anymore. She saw dozens of villagers running towards them with pitchforks and torches…

…with more fire.

Zoe stood up, her legs screaming at her to sit down. But she was one to always ignore pain when working towards a goal. She curled her hands into fists, pink magic stared to engulf them in sparks that looked like lightning. Her irises glowed pink and glared at the approaching crowd with a determined look.

Douxie glanced behind him. “Zoe! Archie! I told you to run!”

Zoe took a painful step forward and shot a large pink lightning bolt in the crowd’s way. The angry mob stopped and stared at the lightning. Suddenly, ghosts and vengeful spirits started to attack the angry mob. Some were tangible enough to interact with discarded weapons and attacked the mob with them, others simply relied on the fear effect.

Douxie stared and glanced back at Zoe. Her hands and eyes glowed a dangerous pink. She raised her hands above her head and let them fall, successfully commanding the ghosts back to their realm. The angry mob had taken the hint and ran off in fear.

Zoe fainted.

OOO

Zoe woke up with a scream.

As she glanced at her surroundings, she calmed down. She was in Arcadia. She was home. She took off her bed covers and glanced at her legs. They were scarred to the point of being too ugly to be seen. So, she always covered her legs, no matter if the day was too hot. She didn’t want questions asked.

She sighed. “Fuck…”

_Fire…_

_Too much fire…_

She picked her phone from the floor and checked the time. 3:46 AM. She sighed again and fell back onto her bed. She laid there for a few minutes before deciding that she wasn’t going to get anymore sleep tonight. If she wasn’t going to get any sleep, neither will Douxie. She felt a bit guilty over that thought. The boy had been running around the last couple of days with Claire going missing and dealing with Merlin and Nari in jail.

( _She had still yet to decide a punishment for Laura and Woody, but that was a whole different story_ )

She quickly dialed his number and waited for him to respond. No answer. She groaned and dialed his apartment line. After a few seconds, someone picked up.

“—stupid modern contraption…. Hello? Who called at this infernal hour in the morning?”

It wasn’t Douxie.

Zoe glared at the wall. “Toolbag.” She greeted.

Merlin groaned from the other side of the line. “Pinky.”

“Where’s Douxie? I have to talk to him.”

“He’s sleeping.”

“Then wake him up.” She demanded.

“He had a long week and I don’t take orders from a hedge witch.” He complained. “Why do you need him?”

“Nacho.”

“What?”

“Nacho business.” Zoe smirked.

“Why you infernal—”

“Look, can you just put him on the phone!?”

“Hehehe, no.”

“Damn you!”

“If it’s not a world ending event, you can call him in the morning.” Said Merlin followed by the sound of a spoon in a mug.

“Why are you up then?”

Merlin took a sip from whatever was in the mug. “Finding my will to live. You?”

Zoe rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Indulge me.”

Zoe sighed. “A nightmare.”

“Very well.” He took another sip from his mug. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“Why will I tell you about my nightmares!?”

“Just curious. You are quite the nuisance, but I’m trying to be nice for Hisirdoux’s sake.” Said Merlin. “Just saying. Anything else is irrelevant.”

Zoe sighed. It’s not like she had anything to lose, had she? “Have you heard of the Salem Witch Trials? In the late 1600s?”

“Can’t say that I have. I have only been reading up until the 1500s. I have yet to read further than that.” Merlin hummed in thought. “What are these trials?”

“In summary, they were an excuse to burn people at the stake, mainly women, for crimes of performing witchcraft. Many of them weren’t even witches, just poor women, sometimes men, that did not comply to social rules and were killed for it. You know, because of hysteria and all that shit.”

Merlin said nothing for a few moments, but Zoe could tell that he was processing this information.

“Were you one of the witches?” He quietly asked.

Zoe closed her eyes, remembering the fire. “It’s when I met Douxie.”

“Oh. Was… was Hisirdoux…”

“No, he wasn’t put at the stake. I was.” She whispered. “At first, he was the one being chased. He was shot three times with arrows.”

Merlin was silent.

“I found him and Archie in the forest, close to my home. That’s how I met them. I let them stay and healed him with my potions. But a few weeks later, they found us and took us down to trial.” Zoe let a few tears escape. “I was put at the stake first, but I’m pretty sure Douxie was next. Somehow, he broke free and saved me and Archie… My legs are burnt enough to prove it. The angry mob kind of followed us and I used my necromancy to stop them…” She sniffed.

Merlin sighed. “No magical creature should be executed for their nature.”

“Well, at the end, we escaped to Canada. We’ve been together since then.”

Merlin took another sip from his mug. “You mean a lot to him. It makes sense, judging from your story.”

Zoe stayed silent for a moment. “You know, that’s probably the nicest thing you have ever said to me.”

“I still believe you are a nuisance, Pinky.”

“You have a way of ruining people’s perception of you.” Zoe deadpanned.

“I’m only listening because of Hisirdoux. I promised I’d try to be nicer.”

“Sure. You love him.”

Merlin groaned but did not deny anything. “About that necromancy of yours… sounds like you are one talented hedge witch.”

“The best of the best.” Zoe scoffed. “I don’t go around humbling myself about it. I worked my ass off to get there.”

Merlin chuckled. “You and me both, then.”

Zoe blinked. “You?”

“Yes, me. I had to start from somewhere.”

Zoe smirked. “I’m sorry, I just can’t imagine you starting as an apprentice.”

Merlin sighed. “Yes, well… I wasn’t any better than Hisirdoux when I started. I started extremely young. Much younger than Hisirdoux when I took him in. I had a lot of magical accidents as a young boy. I wasn't deemed good enough by some _people_.” He spat at the end.

Zoe snorted. "You? The greatest wizard of all time? I have a hard time believing that."

"Oh, trust me... I was quite hopeless in the beginning, but I had a pretty good master."

"Who would say you weren't good enough then?"

Merlin groaned. "We are getting off topic."

“Fine… You aren’t planning on telling Douxie, aren’t you?”

“Nope. And you will not either. I won’t tell anyone about the trials.”

Zoe smirked. “I guess you are not so bad…”

“You are not much of a thorn on my side, it appears.” Merlin chuckled. A few minutes of silence passed. “Archie keeps telling me there is a sort of _romance_ growing between you and Hisirdoux, correct?”

Zoe blushed the shade of a tomato. “There-there is nothing between us! That cat is nuts! He probably needs a better prescription for his glasses.”

“It is quite alright, Pinky. You have my consent.”

“I never wanted your consent! And there is nothing between us!”

“Of course, and my name is Bob.” Merlin snapped. “I still believe he could do better, but you’ll do.”

“Oh, you **_motherfu_** —"

“He likes you, as in romantically.”

Zoe stayed silent. “He… he does?”

“My, you two are so oblivious and you have spent centuries together.” Merlin sighed. “I’d say you better do something quick. Or else, your chance may fade away.” He sounded melancholic at this point. “I may not be the best to give you advise, my last romantic relationship ended in disaster, but I can assure you, one conversation can change everything. You never know.”

“Sounds like you talk from experience.”

Merlin sighed. “I do. It is what I would have done. But the circumstances were far different back then. I had decided to do nothing about it.”

“So, you didn’t confess?” Zoe was very curious at this rare, vulnerable side of Merlin.

“No, it’s not that. She… we already had something going on, but alas, I made some mistakes. One conversation could have saved what we had…” Merlin trailed off. “But forget about me! One word of this to anyone and I’ll throw into the pits of Tartarus, are we clear?”

“Sure, Toolbag.”

“Just talk to him.”

Zoe bit her lip. “I will.”

“Good.”

“Thanks, Merlin.”

Merlin took another sip from his mug. “Goodnight, Lady Zoe.”


	16. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara confronts Ophelia. Jim and Claire have some peaceful time for themselves.

Barbara sighed as she stepped out of her car and walked to the pharmacy to restock on some supplies. Taking care of wounded teenagers, grumpy wizards and trolls have really sucked her dry out of her medical supplies at home. She took a shopping cart and walked around the pharmacy, looking for specific supplies. Back home, she had entrusted Claire to Jim. Claire hadn’t taken well to Javier’s decision of divorce, but it was the right thing to do. There was one issue though: where will they live?

Barbara could let them stay with her, but her house was full already. Douxie could offer a place for Claire, but not for the rest of family. Juggling that with the wizards would be a nightmare for the poor boy.

Jim, bless her son’s heart, had the idea of trying to get them a temporary place in Trollmarket. Claire had the favor of the trolls and this extended to her family. Blinky would be more than willing to help them and if any troll opposed, they had to oblige since Blinky was the Elder now. Barbara had no doubt that Claire, Javier and Enrique would be alright. If anything, Trollmarket was the safest place for them. NotEnrique wasn’t part of the impending custody battle, but he would surely be joining them since he had claimed Claire as kin.

“Just get me the strongest ibuprofen you have!”

Barbara turned around a corner and saw Ophelia leaned against the pharmacy counter, glaring at the pharmacy technician. She glared back. “Look, lady. That’s the strongest one I have. If you want something stronger, go around the corner and get some weed, ok?”

“How dare you!?” Ophelia yelled at her.

The technician ran her hand through her hair. “I’m doing my job, lady. I like helping people, but I don’t take shit from anyone. Are you going to buy it or not?”

“Why you—”

“Ophelia!” Barbara walked closer, effectible interrupting the banter between the technician and the politician.

“Barbara.” Said Ophelia. “Glad to see you.”

Barbara glared at her. “As if. You don’t get to say you’re glad to see me when you know what you did. We need to talk.” Barbara looked at the technician. The technician took the hint and left.

“It can wait.” Ophelia turned back to the counter.

Barbara grabbed her shoulder and forcefully mad her look at her. “You threw your own daughter out because she is different. In the middle of the storm. This conversation will not wait.”

“I didn’t throw her out! She ran away!” Ophelia glared. “You don’t get to poke your nose into my business.”

“I do when that girl is my son’s significant other.”

“If we are having this conversation, fine! I’m blaming your son for all of this!”

“My son!? He has done nothing wrong! He has saved our sorry asses all this time!”

Ophelia groaned. “If your son hadn’t involved Claire, none of this would have happened!”

“They are humans and they make their own choices. Claire made the choice to try and save your other son. Things just escalated from there.” Said Barbara. “It’s our job as parents to support them. They didn’t choose to get involved in this magical mess; they were thrown into it. They just made the best of it and Claire became a powerful witch. She has the respect of hundreds of magical creatures and has the favor of the three most powerful wizards in existence. Your daughter is special, and you should learn to appreciate that!”

“All dangers have to be controlled.”

“Your daughter is not a danger.”

Ophelia just kept glaring. “It’s unnatural what she is doing. She had her life planned out and she threw everything away!”

“You mean YOU had her life planned out. You can’t control her, Ophelia. She will only grow to resent you and I think you already messed that up, even with Javier.”

Ophelia stared. “What… How did you—”

“He called and told us he wants the divorce and considering what you’ve done, he’ll definitely get full custody of Claire and Enrique.” Barbara crossed her arms and waited for Ophelia’s response. “I’m sure this will leave a nasty stain in your political career.”

Ophelia growled. “That’s it. You better not mess around my business again, Lake. Got it?”

Barbara frowned. “No, I don’t. My son loves Claire very much, with his whole being. That only makes her like my own daughter and as such, is my job to protect her as much as I would protect Jim. Even if it means protecting her from her own mother.”

“If you love her so much, why don’t you keep her?” Ophelia cried. Tears made way through her cheeks, taking bits of mascara with them.

“I would, but fortunately for her, she still has her father. Though,” Barbara smirked. “If Claire and Jim ever get married, she would be my daughter as well.”

Ophelia scoffed. “Only Claire would marry a beast like your son.”

* _Slap!_ *

The technician, who had wandered back to the counter to see if everything was already, did a full turn and went back inside. “ _Oh, shit_ ….”

Ophelia rubbed her cheek and look at Barbara in shock. Barbara pointed an accusing finger at the politician. “Don’t. Ever. Insult my son like that.” She said in a low voice. “I wanted to knock some sense into you, but it seems it won’t be of any help. Just know this. If you don’t settle this with your family, you will lose them. Especially Claire.”

“And if I don’t?” Ophelia dared.

Barbara smirked. “Like I said before. Claire has the respect of hundreds of magical creatures, some of them have sworn their loyalty to her for saving their lives. She is friends with the most powerful sorceress alive, her boyfriend is a formidable hero, her friends have defeated various foes, Douxie is her teacher and he was Merlin’s apprentice… Do I need to go on? I’m sure if I ask nicely, some of them might ruin your election campaign.” She crossed her arms with a smug smile.

Ophelia stared. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.” Barbara glared. “Now answer this: Do you love your daughter?”

“Yes, I do.” Ophelia answered with no hesitation.

“Then accept that things have changed, and she has a new path in life.” The doctor sighed. “Look, this is family business, I know. But I care about Claire, we all do. And I don’t want to see that girl resent you for the rest of her days.”

Ophelia looked down but said nothing.

“No one is asking you something so out of this world. Simply to amend things with your daughter.” Said Barbara. “You don’t even have to change your opinions, but simply let Claire flourish and be herself. Your pride is getting in your way.”

Ophelia gulped. “I see.” She cleared her throat. “I … need to think.”

“Good.”

“I shall take my leave then.” Ophelia turned around and walked through one of the isles.

Barbara sighed and rubbed her face. “At least Walter won’t have to remind me to slap her.”

OOO

Jim finished the final touches on his famous white mocha coffee with mint and chocolate chips and handed one cup to Claire, who was quickly enumerated by it. Truly, if Jim wasn’t her boyfriend already, she would have fallen in love with him in that very moment.

“Jim, this is amazing!”

“It’s nothing…” He blushed.

Claire took a big gulp out of it and stared at Jim with a wide smile. Jim laughed; Claire frowned. “What?”

“You have some whipped cream here…” He took a napkin and cleaned off the whipped cream from Claire’s cheek.

She laughed. “Oh, Jim.”

Jim stared lovingly at Claire. “You know I love you, right?”

Claire blushed. “Yeah, I know. I love you too.” She cuddled close to Jim with her hot drink at hand. “Morgana has this cool trick I want to try.”

“What is it?”

“She showed me her room.” Claire explained. “And she had this amazing illusion on the ceiling, and it was like staring at the night sky, with galaxies and everything!”

“That sounds awesome!”

Claire bit her lip. “There’s something else… Morgana said we should keep it to ourselves until we had more information, but I’m telling you this because I trust you, Jim.” She looked at him in the eyes. “You can’t tell anyone, not even Toby.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

“OK.” Claire sighed. “I’ve been having visions again. But this time, they are different. They take the form of shadows, like my magic is turning them into some form of shadow puppets.”

“Creepy but go on.”

“Morgana thinks these visions I have are from the past and I might have the ability of Hindsight.”

Jim arched and eyebrow. “Isn’t that what Merlin has?”

“Nope.” Claire shook her head. “Merlin has Foresight, the ability to see into the future, even then is not so certain. Hindsight is the ability to see into the past.” She took a sip from her coffee. “There were two wizards, a man and a woman, but he killed her. Then, there was this boy, I could never see their faces. He was glowing in green light and charged at the man. But that’s it. Then, when dad called me the day I came here, another shadow vision appeared, it was the same woman from before. But it was weird.”

“How weird?”

“She called me by my name and then disappeared.”

Jim took a sip from his coffee and thought for a moment. “I am no expert in magic, but that sounds to me like that shadow was actually self-aware.”

Claire nodded. “I thought so too. I called Morgana and told her about it, but she has no clue and she had dealt with shadow magic for longer than I have. For all we now, it could be something way different than Hindsight. She’s the expert!”

“Don’t sell yourself too short, Claire. I’ve seen you perform crazy amazing stuff with shadow magic.” He smiled.

“Thanks, Jim.” Claire smiled back. “Morgana said she’ll look more into it.”

“Why not ask Merlin for help?”

Claire sighed. “You know how he is with shadow magic and we rather not involve him unless we absolutely have to. Besides, if Morgana hasn’t seen anything like it, why would Merlin? He doesn’t even know shadow magic, who knows if he can even perform it.”

Jim nodded. “Douxie was telling me the other day about how some types of magic are not compatible with other abilities.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, I think he was just ranting out. It was the day he had to get Merlin and Nari out of jail.” They laughed.

“I still can’t believe they managed to get themselves arrested.” Claire smiled.

“Must have been pretty funny.” Jim nodded. “But seriously, I think Douxie was unto something. He mentioned that some magical abilities never develop because you have a different skillset or aptitude. Some kinds of magic can’t be mixed with others, which is probably why Merlin can’t perform shadow magic.”

Claire nodded. “Makes sense. But why would Douxie rant about the study of magical aptitudes when he was bailing out Merlin and Nari?”

Jim shrugged. “He mentioned something about wanting to be able to use earth magic and let the earth swallow them whole, but his skillset didn’t allow him to have the aptitude for it.” They laughed. “So, he’d settle for Morgana to banish them to the Shadow Realm.”

Claire giggled. “They make a pretty nice, if weird, family.”

They cuddled closer and drank their beverages in peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who are these mysterious shadow visions Claire is having? Hehehe.... Arthurian legends, people. That's my hint.


	17. Oceans of Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nimue and Steve let in someone else on their secret training sessions. 
> 
> Zoe decides to be bold and asks Douxie on a date.

Steve had realized that he absolutely loved having Nimue in his life. What’s cooler than a _super-awesome-sea-monster-that’s-actually-a-half-troll_ grandma? Nothing. He was a lucky kid. Nimue was fun too, way different than from when he first met her in that cave in that cave back in Camelot. Back when she actually tried to eat him and stuff… but let bygones be bygones, right?

She believed so much in him and saw a lot of great potential in him when a lot of people didn’t. So, call him a bit selfish, but he didn’t want to share his newfound grandma with anyone, at least not yet.

…but he never gets what he wants, doesn’t he?

“What are you doing here!?” Steve asked.

Toby kept staring at the Nimue. “Um, my grandma’s cat went missing and I was looking for it and instead, I find you practicing some form of water bending straight from Avatar with the weird lady here.”

“I’m Nimue, the Lady of the Lake. Pleased to meet your acquaintance.” Nimue smiled down at the young Trollhunter before her. “I believe your name is Tobias, right?”

Toby gasped. “She knows my name!” He turned to Steve. “Dude! The Lady of the Lake is here in Arcadia and you didn’t tell anyone!?”

Steve frowned. He should have knocked Toby out before he stumbled upon them in the woods practicing water magic of all things. “Cut it off, buttsnack! We have our reasons.”

“Like?” Toby dared.

Nimue interrupted. “I have my personal reasons, Steve has his. But one thing in common is that I’m training him.”

Toby stared. “Oh, right. The water thing, right…” He slowly turned to Steve and hell broke loose. “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US, MAN!? YOU HAVE SUPER AWESOMESAUCE WATERPOWERS!”

“Geez, if you calm down, we’ll explain!” Steve rolled his eyes. “You remember I mentioned Lancelot, right?”

“Ugh, yeah! That’s super awesome meeting a knight of legend!”

“Right, well, in summary, Nimue adopted and raised him and she granted his descendants the power over water, which is strictly unique to her but with time, the power disappeared and reappeared with me because of my exposure to magic and I’m Lancelot’s descendant through my mom.” Steve explained. “Nimue is my grandma.”

“Don’t call me grandma.”

Toby stared with his mouth open, trying to take long gasps of air.

Nimue placed a hand on Toby’s shoulder. “Take a deep breath and calm down, I know it’s a lot to take in—”

“ARE YOU KIDDING, THIS IS AMAZING!!!” Toby turned to Nimue. “You’re even a half-troll! Just like Jimbo was! How does that work?”

“I was born a half-troll.”

Toby stared. “How is it possible? Wait, so… your parents… **_how_** does that even work?”

“Well, I’ll be happy to explain, young knight.” Nimue answered sincerely. “When mama and papa were building a garden—”

Toby cut her off as he waved his hand in front of her. “NEVERMIND! I don’t need that conversation again…” He turned to Steve. “Wait a minute. If you are descendant of Lancelot, your name shouldn’t be Steve Du Lac, then?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Names change with time, buttsnack.”

“Still, this is awesomesauce! I gotta call Jimbo--!” Toby pulled out his phone before Steve took it away.

“No!”

“What!? Why!?”

Nimue sighed. “Steve is not ready to show anyone what he’s capable of just yet. As for me, I don’t want to see certain…” She groaned. “Wizard.”

Toby blinked. “You mean Merlin?”

Nimue nodded. “If I see him, I might kill him.” She said with no hesitation.

Toby laughed. “He’s not that bad, actually. Right?”

Nimue glared.

Toby gulped. “Ok, he’s bad. I get it. Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good.” Steve nodded.

“But I still want to see that water magic in action!”

Steve groaned and Nimue chuckled. She placed a hand on his shoulder. “It will be fine. You have gained quite a great amount of control over it.”

“Fine…” Steve groaned.

OOO

Nimue watched as Steve did a show of levitating water across the lake and Toby applauded. She chuckled. He had mastered most of the water attacks due to his history as an athlete, it was easy for him. Soon, she will have to teach him the harder parts such as changing the water’s density, its temperature, how to separate water from another liquid and healing, between others. Healing, however, was the part she wanted to focus on first. It was vital for him to learn, especially in a world filled with so many powerful enemies that could hurt you.

Steve did a double flip in the air and the water followed suit, creating a type of shield that could protect him. Nimue smiled.

Another thing she wanted to teach him was to control a greater amount of water by himself. It was something that even she struggled with sometimes and she had thousands of years to master it. Better start soon.

“Dude! That is awesome!” Toby yelled.

Steve scoffed. “Of course, it was awesome. I’m the best at whatever I do!”

Nimue frowned. She will have to correct that attitude first. She stepped forward and hit Steve on the head with her wooden staff, making sure the blue gem hit him especially hard.

“Hey! Ow!” Steve complained as he rubbed his head.

Nimue placed the staff behind her back and stood up straight. “Some knights were recognized by their humbleness such as Sir Gawain and Sir Tristan. You will do well on imitating their behavior.”

“Alright, geez!”

Toby stared in amazement at Nimue. “Can you train me as a knight?”

Nimue scratched her head just behind her horns. “Why would I do that? You already have training of trollhunter.” She smiled. She had the ability to see people’s deepest desires. She knew why Toby wanted this kind of training, but she wanted him to admit it first.

Toby looked down. “I know, but I feel like I can be more than that, you know. All I have going for myself in my Warhammer and now that Jim is weaponless, I just want to protect my body, you know. There are still enemies out trying to kill us all. I’m just Toby, the Trollhunter’s best friend, but it’s my duty to help him too!”

Steve looked at him and sighed. “Well, I did promise Lancelot I’d restore the knights of the round table, I guess I could use another member.” He fist-bumped Toby.

“Thanks, man.”

Nimue smiled. “Your loyalty to your friend is admirable, young Tobias. The Knights had it. It seems I have a new student.” At that, Toby gasped. Nimue kept her smile. “You already have a combat advantage, so we will be advancing your training. Steve is still my main priority to train. Magic is not something that can be put off. But I’ll text you to train with us when we are focusing on fighting.”

“Wait, you’ll text me? You have a phone?”

Nimue pulled out an old Motorola flip phone from the early 2000s. “I got it from the trash a while ago.” She turned to look at Steve. “I was meaning to tell you, but I kept forgetting about it.” She opened the phone. “But it works!”

Toby and Steve looked at each other and then back at Nimue. “How does it work, exactly? You basically live underwater.” Steve commented.

“Magic, Steve. Magic.” Nimue replied. “Also, magic gives the best reception. Can I get your phone numbers now?”

After exchanging phone numbers, Nimue pocketed her flip phone and turned to Toby. “Now, you mustn’t tell anyone just yet.”

“Because Steve is not ready to show off and that you don’t want to see your ex-boyfriend?”

“Exactly—wait, **WHAT**!?” Nimue yelled, narrowing her orange and yellow eyes at the boy. “How did you learn that?”

“Well, the Arthurian legends might have paired you and Merlin in a romantic relationship and I just assumed… sorry. Is not true, isn’t it?” Toby looked down with a deep blush.

Nimue sighed. “No, no… You are absolutely right, unfortunately…”

“What!?” Steve questioned. “ _You were banging Merlin_!?”

Nimue narrowed her eyes with a heavy blush on her cheeks.

“AAAHHHH!!!”

…both boys were sent flying towards the lake, which emitted a large splash of water.

Nimue rubbed her temples. “Men…” She groaned.

Toby and Steve emerged to the surface of the lake. Toby coughed. “Did you have to, Steve?”

“I didn’t think that straight. It just came out!”

“You don’t go around asking people that! It’s common sense!” Toby splashed water at Steve’s face out of anger. “You idiot!”

“Alright, I’m sorry!”

Nimue levitated across the water towards them. Her eyes glowed blue and the gem in her staff shone almost a blinding white. “First lesson! Outrun _the Lady of the Lake_!” She submerged herself into the water and quickly emerged as Nimue, the Sea Monster.

Toby looked up. “This is the part where we flee, right?”

“Yup.”

OOO

Zoe took a deep breath and entered the café Douxie worked at. She gave a glance at the piece of paper she had in hand and looked around for the punk wizard. She saw him at the edge of the café, cleaning some tables. She quickly walked over to him.

Douxie looked up. “Zoe! How are you?”

“I’m good.” She was blushing, dammit. But she was following Merlin’s advice, she wasn’t going back down on it.

“Are you sure? You don’t look so well.”

Zoe shoved the piece of paper into his toned chest, which didn’t particularly help with her blush. “I’ll see you there.” She made a run for it and left the café.

Douxie looked around, there were almost no customers and little staff to even bother to see what just happened. He opened the piece of paper. It even smelled of her perfume.

_\--Meet me at Tony’s Restaurant tonight at seven. Yes, it’s a date. No, don’t bring Archie. Wear something nice, but not too formal—_

_\--Zoe_

Douxie’s face went crimson red to the point he felt a bit hot. Zoe, _his Zoe_ , was taking him out on a **_date_**.

“Oh fuzzbuckets… Archie is going to have a field day…”


	18. Long Awaited Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Douxie and Zoe finally go on a date. Archie tries to spy on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so excited for this chapter! I hope I wrote the romance good and I tried to keep it in character for them.

Douxie looked around his closet for something nice to wear while Archie admired the piece of paper Zoe had given Douxie earlier in the day over Douxie’s bed. “Aw, yes. After centuries of hard labor, is all finally coming together.”

Douxie glared at Archie over his shoulder. “You didn’t do jack-shit, Archie.”

“Who do you think set up that band of fairies to sing to you both back in 1786? Who do you think made sure every Valentine’s Day both of you ended up with romantic messages addressed to one another when obviously, none of you wrote it? Between other things…” Archie snapped back. “You two may be centuries old wizards, but you both certainly act like dumb, oblivious teenagers when it comes to finally addressing your feelings for each other.”

Douxie rolled his eyes. “I know, I know. I just don’t want to ruin everything.”

“And you won’t. At least now you know Zoe feels something for you. I was expecting you would make the first step, but she beat you to it. Good for her.”

“You’re not helping.” Douxie groaned.

Archie rolled his eyes. “The white button up dress shirt, the jeans and the black leather jacket. Not too formal and not too casual, still within your style. Oh! And the blank converse, the new pair. At least those look more presentable.”

Douxie grabbed the exact pieces Archie mentioned. “When did you became an expert in fashion?”

“Since the Victorian Era. They had good taste.” Archie nodded. “Now go get a quick shower. You don’t want to go on the date smelling like old bread.”

“Ha, ha…”

Archie waited until Douxie closed the bathroom door to jump off the bed and run towards the living room where the rest of the wizards were performing their evening hobbies. Mainly just watching Enola Holmes on Netflix. Archie stood in the coffee table and hit the pause button, effectible way of gaining the attention of the wizards.

“Hey! We were watching that!” Nari complained.

“We were just about to see what will happen to the girl!” Merlin munched on some popcorn.

“We need to know if Sherlock solves the case! Though, I’m sure Enola solves it first” Morgana pleaded.

“Silence, all of you!” Archie commanded. “And Morgana, you just want to stare at Henry Cavil, so please, just a moment of your time. You’ll have time to make goo-goo eyes at him later.”

Morgana blushed and looked away for being called out. Merlin and Nari giggled.

Archie cleared his throat. “Zoe asked Douxie on a date. Tonight.”

They gasped and Merlin nodded. “Good thing she followed my advice.” They turned to look at him, waiting for an explanation, but alas, Merlin never gave one.

“Right…” Archie continued. “We are going to spy on them. Make sure the night goes by smoothly. Who’s with me?” He waited for an answer.

Morgana sighed. “Well, alright. But we will keep our distance.” She gave him a thumbs up with her prosthetic Akiridion tech hand.

“I’m not sure about this…” Nari said.

“We will not be telling Hisirdoux about this.” Merlin supplied. “Just a quick peek and keep the cat happy. I want to finish the movie.”

OOO

Douxie took a deep breath and went inside the restaurant. Tony’s was the name. Rather popular place for romantic dates and such in Arcadia. Not to mention it was a bit expensive. He walked over to the hostess.

“Hello, I believe there’s a reservation for two.”

“Very well, what’s your name?”

“Douxie. But the reservation should be on Zoe’s name.”

The hostess looked at her list for a moment before smiling. “Here you are. Come with me.” She guided him over to a table in a far corner, next to a window. “Zoe hasn’t arrived yet. Would you like to order something to drink?”

“Just water for the moment, thank you.” The hostess came back with a glass of water and went off to resume her duties, leaving Douxie alone at the table to think.

Holy shit, he was on a date with Zoe. He rubbed his face. All this time he was trying to conceal his feelings for her to not damage their friendship if he somehow screwed it. Centuries of knowing each other and he couldn’t read her as well as he thought. Or maybe this was a recent development for her? With Archie’s reaction to this, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe she was just as bad as reading him. Or maybe they were in such a good dynamic that they just didn’t notice it was romance. So much thinking hurt his head.

“For a moment I thought I scared you off.”

Douxie turned around and saw Zoe standing there. She was dressed in a black dress with a halter strap, black leggings that covered her legs and high black bondage boots.

Douxie didn’t even bother to hide his blush. “Zoe! Um—” He stood up and pulled a chair for her. “You look stunning.”

Zoe sat down with a slight blush on her cheeks. “I always liked that leather jacket. You should wear it more often.”

“Maybe, I should.” Douxie took a seat in front of her, the blush still present.

Neither dared to speak.

OOO

“THEY ARE HOPELESS!!!” Archie yelled from behind a bush across the street. He was spying on Zoe and Douxie’s date with a pair of binoculars.

Merlin groaned beside him. “When I agreed to this, I did not think I would have to seat behind a bush across the street to spy on my former apprentice’s courtship with Pinky.”

Nari sighed dreamily. “I don’t know, I have a feeling this night will end well.”

Archie scoffed, still using the binoculars. “Well, it better. I have planned this for centuries, I’m telling you. Centuries!”

Morgana shook her head. “Don’t you think you are taking this a bit too far?”

Archie turned to look at her. “Too far, my ass!” He went back to the binoculars. “First, the date, then they confess and kiss. After that, wedding cake and tiny Zoes and Douxies running around!” He laughed maniacally.

Morgana, Merlin and Nari glanced at each other. Morgana frowned. “The cat lost his marbles.”

Nari was confused. “Why would there be tiny Douxies and Zoes running around?”

Morgana stared and Merlin facepalmed. “You mean you don’t know how humans… _procreate_?”

Nari shook her head. “I am not naïve; I know how nature works! But knowing human mating rituals was never relevant for me. Why? Something wrong with that? Do they display animalistic behaviors like humping--”

Morgana shook her head and gave her a nervous smile. “No-Not at all! You keep your innocent little mind just like that!”

Merlin groaned. “One Hisirdoux and one Pinky are enough for me.” He turned to Archie and grabbed the cat by his fur. Archie let the binoculars fall as he struggled to break free from Merlin’s grasp. “Listen here, you! You are taking this a bit too far and we certainly did NOT need those images in our heads!”

Archie sighed and let go of the binoculars. “You are right. My apologizes. I might have taken it a bit too far. Very out of character for me. It’s just…” He sighed as Merlin put him down gently. “I want them to be happy. They have gone through so much and they deserve a little love. Also, it is very frustrating watching those two dance around each other for centuries and no one made a move. I just wanted to help them…”

Morgana smiled. “There are some things we can’t force, Archie. Love is one. We should let it run its course.”

Archie nodded. “You are right. Maybe I should let them be and see how it goes.”

OOO

Douxie cleared his throat. “You know, you took me by surprise with the note.”

“Oh!” Zoe laughed nervously. “I think I was a bit straightforward.”

Douxie played with his glass of water. “I… we’ve never been on a date before.”

“I know…” The server passed by and took their orders, Douxie settled for whatever Zoe ordered. “I… didn’t know how to address it first. I took the advice from someone and just went with it.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Douxie looked down. “So, it isn’t a recent development?”

Zoe shook her head.

Douxie looked at her. “When did you….”

Zoe shrugged. “Maybe two hundred years ago or so.” She sighed. “Listen, Douxie. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything. And I know I’m being bold with this, but I love you.” She avoided his eyes. “I will understand if you don’t feel the same. We can still be friends, as we have always been. I won’t mind. I’d rather have you in my life then drive you away over some silly crush.”

Douxie gave her a timid smile. “That makes two of us.”

Zoe looked up in surprise. Well, not really surprised since Merlin kind of told her Douxie had something for her but hearing it directly from him was still surprising.

He scratched the back of his head. “I’m not sure when it happened for me. But I never guessed you felt the same way. I never said anything because you are one of the most important persons in my life and I didn’t want to scare you away.” He looked down. “With time, you became much more than that and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you over my feelings, so I never said anything about my love for you.” He took her hand in his. “I love you too, Zoe. Very much.”

They smiled at each other with tears in their eyes and a heavy weight lifted from their shoulders.

From afar, in another bush, Ash Dispersal Pattern members Laura and Woody spied on them. “I think they are doing fine.” Laura commented as she put away her binoculars.

Woody nodded. “Yeah, about time don’t you think?”

Laura laughed. “Let’s get out of here before Zoe sees us and decides to declare war upon us.”

“Great idea.” Woody commented. “Also, Douxie is the master wizard here, he will probably banish us into a Heartstone or something if he finds out.”

OOO

Dinner had been fine and all, but it did not compare to a stroll in the park at night.

…and by stroll, it means trying to catch a slippery gnome that stole Douxie’s wallet.

“Get back here, you little rat!” Douxie threw a ball of magic towards the gnome, but the critter dodged it expertly. The gnome with a blue hat unlike Gnome Chompsky laughed evilly and ran off.

Here’s what happened.

After dinner, Douxie insisted they’d get ice cream, promising Zoe to go to her favorite ice cream parlor. It was a peaceful time. They laughed and shared stories from centuries ago, made fun of Archie’s attempts to try and get them together.

“He’s probably really salty that it took Merlin for me to say something.” Zoe laughed and took a spoonful of ice cream.

“Wait, you spoke with Merlin?”

Zoe nodded. “It was nothing. I think we might be a bit more friendly towards each other. I still don’t like him much, though.”

In that moment, Zoe felt a tug on her leggings. She looked down and saw a tiny gnome glancing at her with puppy eyes. “Awww….” Zoe picked the gnome. “You poor thing.”

Douxie did a double take. “Zoe, that’s a gnome.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” She placed on the table. “What’s wrong, little buddy?”

The gnome patted his tummy and spoke in gibberish. Zoe smiled. “You must be hungry. Here, you can have the rest of my ice cream.”

The gnome smiled gratefully and began to eat. Douxie arched an eyebrow. “Nothing against gnomes, but are you sure he’s not sweetening himself to us?”

“Aww, Douxie. Look at him, he’s adorable!”

“Adorable, my ass.” Douxie scoffed.

“I’m gonna name him… Gnome Norman!” Exclaimed Zoe.

“Wait, what?”

The gnome discreetly winked at him. Douxie stared and before he knew it, the little pest jumped at him, took his wallet, and ran off to the park.

Which led us to this moment.

Douxie had finally managed to capture the culprit and suspended him in midair with his magic. “I’ll take that.” He forcefully took the wallet from the gnome’s greedy hands. “Now what to do with you…” He pondered. “I wish there was some sort of gnome jail I could throw you into.” Whatever the gnome spoke in his language, sounded a bit suspiciously like he didn’t want to go back to jail.

Zoe finally catches up to them. “Don’t do anything rash, Douxie. He was just hungry.”

“And he stole my wallet.” He glared at the gnome.

Zoe rolled her eyes and pulled Gnome Norman away from Douxie’s magical grasp and put him down. “Were you truly hungry?” The gnome nodded. “Did you need money for food?” The gnome nodded again.

“Zoe, he’s a gnome. They eat just about everything—” Zoe grabbed Douxie’s wallet from his grasp and pulled five dollars. She handed the wallet back to Douxie and the money to Gnome Norman.

“Get out of here, Norman. And don’t go off stealing wallets again, you troublemaker.” She smirked at him.

Gnome Norman stared at the money for a moment before sighing. He gave her a nod and saluted. Just like that the gnome went off with the money and disappeared. Douxie sighed and put away his wallet. “Well, that happened.”

Suddenly, it stared to rain. The rain was so heavy, the wizards had no time to look for shelter and got wet.

“Sorry about this, Zoe.” Douxie apologized.

Zoe tucked her wet hair behind her ears. “What for? You don’t control the weather!”

“We just never get to be normal.” Douxie laughed.

“Well, normal is overrated.”

“That I agree.” Douxie got a mischievous smirk on his face.

“What are you—” Zoe was splashed on the face with mud. Douxe laughed. Zoe smirked back. “Oh, I see.” She used her magic to levitate more mud and threw it at Douxie, to which he replied with even more mud. What followed was the mother of mud wars, which also included magic. Due to the downpour, the mud on their faces was mostly washed away by the time they grew too tired.

They hugged each other as they laughed, and the heavy rain fell on them. Douxie pulled away just enough be able to stare into Zoe’s eyes. He leaned in a bit closer to her face before finally closing the space between their lips. Zoe leaned even closer and ran her fingers across Douxie’s wet hair. He caressed her cheek like she was the most fragile thing he’d ever touched.

If they didn’t know happiness before, then they knew it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to Review! Let me know how was the date for you guys and off the record, what did you think about Gnome Norman? He's making a comeback later on.
> 
> And by the way, happiness doesn't really last forever, doesn't it? BUAHAHAHAHA!!!


	19. Visions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin has visions of a possible, dreadful future.
> 
> Claire meets a peculiar shadow that seems to know more than she let's on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally getting into the good stuff, people!!! The next few chapters were tricky to write, and the ones after that, surely will be even trickier. Specially because I'm trying to incorporate Arthurian Legends and be as accurate as possible. So bear with me. Enjoy!

Merlin gasped and sat back up. He was wearing his everyday clothes, but he was in some sort of void. He groaned. “Not again. What is it now?” He groaned as he stood up.

He had been here before. If he was here, then he must have fallen asleep with _Little Women_ over his face. How Hisirdoux got him to read that before bedtime, he wasn’t sure, but it was quite interesting.

Merlin sighed. Every time he was in this forsaken place, he had a vision of the future or something. But it was taking a bit too long this time around. Usually, he would have a vision by now. “Well, I don’t have all day!” He yelled at nothing. Still, nothing happened. “What the bloody hell…” He facepalmed. He waited, but nothing happened.

Suddenly, a bright light shone behind him. He turned and covered his eyes from the brightness. The light was a sky blue, almost a blinding white. For a moment, Merlin thought he was seeing Hisirdoux, but when the light faded, he gasped. “Nimue…”

Nimue’s mist form stood a few feet away from. He couldn’t see much detail in her. He couldn’t see if her blue hair was still blue or had it changed to gray. He couldn’t see her unique yellow and orange eyes, but it was her. She was bloodied and dirty, her hair let loose from her regular ponytail and reached her waist.

_How long had been since he last saw her in her true form?_

Nimue’s vision was fighting. Fighting someone… he couldn’t see. Her opponent was some sort of shadow.

Then the mists that made the visions take form exploded into a destroyed Arcadia before him. He gasped. There were bodies laying around, of trolls and humans alike. In the corner he could see the fallen form of the Akiridion prince next to Steve. He could see the trollhunters’ bodies scattered around. Jim laid close to Barbara’s body, Toby not too far from him.

He stumbled upon a body. He felt like someone had stabbed him with a knife.

It was Hisirdoux lying in a puddle of his own blood.

“No, please…” He sobbed. He kneeled and tried to turn him over, but quickly remembered that the body was just an illusion made of mist. Not so far away was Morgana’s body dressed in her armor. He ran to her and inspected her. Her eyes were still open, her lips blue and there was ice all around her that obviously belonged to Skrael. _Hypothermia_ , Merlin thought. “My sweet girl…”

He soon found another body. Two, to be exact, under the debris of a fallen building. Zoe with Archie in his dragon form. Merlin covered his mouth and looked away. He couldn’t bear this.

On the other direction was Nari’s body and probably in the worst condition. Impaled by an ice spike and her body burned. For good measure, she was missing both her arms. Merlin sobbed. It was an act of vengeance against her.

He heard Nimue’s cry and the wizard looked just in time to see the shadow impale her with a beam of dark magic.

“NO!!!” He yelled as he ran towards her falling body. He attempted to hold her tight, to not let her go. But her mist body went right through him and fell over the fallen bit of Arcadia. Her staff rolled over next to her. He fell on his knees beside her, crying. No… this couldn’t happen. All the most important people in his life… gone.

The shadow was laughing maniacally at Nimue’s fallen body. He conjured up a staff. Merlin gasped. The staff was made of the bones of a hundred slain dragons. The staff was a creamy white shade with a dragon’s bony claw on top and red magic oozing from between the claws. Many said it was a staff that only existed in old fairy tales lost to time to scare children to go to bed early. He had been the one child that did not need to imagine what it looked like because he had seen it.

 _That staff had given him nightmares as a child_.

Its name? The **Apocalyptic Vengeance**.

By recognizing the mythical staff, the shadow finally started to take form into something – _someone_ , Merlin recognized. The transformation was interrupted by a beam of purple and black magic attacking the shadow.

Then Merlin woke up with gasp.

He panted with a hand over his chest. He took a few minutes to calm down before looking around. He was in his room, in Hisirdoux’s apartment. He was in Arcadia. He could hear Nari arguing with the TV control and Archie and Morgana talking. He wiped the sweat away from his brow.

He was fine. They were all fine. For now.

He sighed and buried his face in his hands. What he saw had obviously bothered him to no end. Hisirdoux, Morgana, Nimue, Nari… so on and so forth. He couldn’t let that happen. He just---

“ _Count to ten, my son… Take a deep breath. It is just a window into a possible future with many possible outcomes and many more ways to change it_.”

“ _But what if I can’t change it, mother!?”_

_“If you can’t, then it was meant to be. But if you CAN, then there is **always** a way…”_

He heard his mother’s voice in his head. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Thousands of years dead and yet, you still advise me, mother…” Merlin whispered to a ghost that wasn’t there. He stood up from his bed and walked towards his workstation. Junk metal and the pieces of the broken Vespa he had tried to repair to give to Jim still laid there. He took a piece in his hands. “If it can be prevented, then so be it.”

He got to work.

OOO

Morgana was sitting on the couch in her pajamas when she looked up from her book to glance at Archie fighting with someone on the phone.

“No, Woody! I don’t care if Laura is having “wolf problems”, Douxie and Zoe are busy and thus, cannot help you!” He stood quiet for a moment as Woody, Morgana supposed he was part of Douxie’s band, ranted at Archie. The cat sighed.

“Just make sure she doesn’t go on a rampage across Arcadia, that is the last thing we need. Make sure she’s cozy, has lots of bacon and we’re good.” He was silent again; Morgana arched an eyebrow. “It’s just one night, Woody. You’ll do fine. Laura did confirm herself she is aware when she’s a wolf. Just do as I said, and you’ll be fine. No! She won’t eat you!” He hung up before the man on the phoneline could protest.

Archie sighed and jumped to the couch next to Morgana. “Are my ears deceiving me, or is one of Douxie’s friends a werewolf?”

Archie groaned. “Yes, she is. But she’s docile enough when she has her monthly problems.” His ears perked. “Not the other ones, of course! Goodness, no. She turns into an absolute monster.” He and Morgana laughed.

“And for the record, Woody is of fire fae blood. But his linage is so far back, he can only perform weak fire spells and has an extended lifespan.”

Morgana shook her head. “Douxie sure has made weird friends.”

Suddenly, the front opened and in came Douxie, wet with fresh rain and a lovesick grin drawn on his face.

Archie smirked. “So? How did it go? I want details!”

Douxie blushed but kept his lovesick grin. “You nosy cat…”

Morgana chuckled. “Yes, pretty nosy…” She commented.

Archie frowned. “Oi, cut it out!”

Nari left the TV control and jumped into the couch with Archie and Morgana to question Douxie. “How was it? Did you kiss? Was it romantic? Did you displayed any animalistic behavior—” Morgana placed a hand over Nari’s mouth to shut her up.

“Forgive her. We might need to reduce the amount of time she spends in front of the TV.” Morgana excused.

Douxie arched and eyebrow. “Ok… I probably don’t want to know about that.” He scratched his head. “And yes, we um… we kissed.” He blushed.

“UHHHH!!!!” They teased, deepening Douxie’s blush even more.

“Oh, shut it!”

OOO

 **2:56 AM**.

Claire tossed and turned on her bed. Well, it wasn’t exactly her bed, more like the guest bed in the Lake residency. She was having a hard time sleeping. Her mother had texted her earlier today, she said she wanted to talk, but Claire did not answer. She wasn’t ready to face her mother just yet. She spoke with Javier about it, to which he replied it was progress, but if she wasn’t ready to talk to Ophelia, that was fine as well. Claire truly loved her mother, but things were too complicated now and she doubted it would ever be the same.

She felt her eyelids falling and Claire gave a sigh of relief. She was finally going to sleep…

…or was.

The room started to fill up with shadows and purple magic. Claire opened her eyes wide and gasped. The shadows took the form of the same woman from over a week ago. This time, the only other noticeable feature aside from the shadow body were her eyes. Sky blue.

“You!” Claire crawled back against the wall. “What do you want? You’ve been appearing in my dreams recently. Just who the hell are you?”

The shadow gave a light chuckle. “ ** _Answers in due time, my child_**.” Her voice was motherly and soft, like an echo. Claire let down her guard, just a little. “ ** _But I do need your help_**.”

Claire arched an eyebrow. “Me? Why?”

The shadow extended her hand and materialized a key. Claire stared at it, it was like one of those old-fashioned keys, but it wasn’t made of metal. “Is that thing made of… _diamond_?”

The shadow chuckled. “ ** _Yes, it is made of diamond in its purest form. Excellent to channel raw magic_**.”

Claire narrowed her eyes. “It’s a magical key made of a precious stone. I suppose it opens a chest with something important?”

“ ** _Clever girl, I believe I made the right choice. Yes, it opens something, but not a chest. A door_**.”

“Wait, hold on, back up!” Claire stood up and walked towards the shadow. Upon closer examination, the shadow was as tall as Barbara, if not a bit more. “Why are you a shadow and why are you self-aware? Also, how did you materialized a magical key if you are a shadow?”

“ ** _The correct questions. Seems I made a good choice with you. To answer them, I’m merely a connection to my past self, when I was alive and I was a powerful sorceress, if I do say so myself_**.”

Claire looked sad for a moment. “You’re dead? You are a ghost then…”

“ ** _Yes. But more answers in due time. For now_** ,” The shadow ghost took one of Claire’s hands and placed the diamond key in it. “ ** _You must keep this safe. The time will soon come for you to use it. You mustn’t tell anyone about it. SPECIALLY not Merlin and Nimue. At least not yet_**.” The shadow gave a heavy, exasperated sigh. “ ** _Those two imbeciles have to solve their own set of problems before dealing with the past…_** ” She mumbled.

“Not tell Merlin. What about Nimue? She’s not even with us!”

The Shadow chuckled again. “ ** _That you know of_**.”

“What? How—”

“ ** _Guard the key. It is essential to what is to come_**.”

“What’s to come!? What is going on?”

“ ** _I can’t reveal much now, I must go. Always keep it with you. The time will soon come for you to use it_**.” She started to disappear.

“Can I at least get your name?”

" ** _Only if you keep it a secret for now_**."

"Fine. Who are you?"

“.. _. **You can call me Ambrosia of Avalon**_.” Then the shadow was gone.

Claire stared at the spot the shadow was standing for a moment before looking at the key in her hand. It was heavy and indeed it was diamond, the one obvious hint to its magic was the blue glow it emitted. She felt the weight a bit, almost as heavy as a coffee mug with stones inside it for lack of a better description. She turned it over and found letters encrypted to it. Claire narrowed her eyes before gasping.

“It’s trollish! I think… maybe an ancient variation?” She made her way to a small bookshelf in the corner of the room. It was filled with some old medical books and some magical books courtesy of Blinky.

Claire pulled a troll dictionary and left it open on the floor. She flipped the pages until she found what she was looking for.

“Ancient Trollish.” She started to read in a low voice. “One of the earliest dialects for Troll kind, commonly used over 3,000 years ago—” Claire stared at the paged and rubbed her face. “Why would a ghost hand me a magical diamond key with ancient trollish written on it?” She continued reading. “—Nowadays, only a select group of scholars speak and write fluently on the dialect. Originated in the long-gone City of Avalon, territory of what nowadays it is now known as Glastonbury in human country England. Not much information is left on the language, other than an alphabet (See page 392 for details).”

Claire turned the page and came face to face with an unknown alphabet. She shook her head. These were the letters alright, but it did not have a proper translation to modern Trollish so she could then translate it to English. She rubbed her temples. Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from the kitchen downstairs and heard Strickler cursing under his breath.

Claire smiled. “The ghost said not to tell anyone about the key, she never said not to ask anyone for a translation!” She quickly grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down the word from the key. She grabbed the Troll dictionary and shoved the magical key under her pillow. She quietly descended the stairs and found Strickler with a book on the dining table.

“Strickler?”

Strickler looked up and smiled. “Claire! It’s early in the morning, couldn’t sleep?”

“Not really. I decided to mess around this troll dictionary instead, see if I got bored enough to get some shut eye.” She giggled. Good thing she had not lost her acting skills. She sat down in front of him. “I came up with some form of ancient Trollish, but there is not proper translation to it in this book. I put some letters together on this piece of paper, but I can’t translate.”

“Oh! I don’t really speak it, but I know enough to understand the written word.” He put his book away and sifted into teacher-mode. “Here, let me.”

Claire handed him the book and the piece of paper. Strickler smiled. “The beauty of this alphabet is that is one of the very first written documents in history. Not that the humans know that. But ancient trollish is a thing to behold. It is closely related to Sumerian, the oldest written language in existence and taking its origins in southern Mesopotamia.”

“Wait, shouldn’t that make this type of trollish far older than 3000 years? It should be at least 6000 years.”

“Yes, well…” Strickler frowned at the book. “Whoever wrote this book had some false information. The dialect is far older than this, but commonly used back 3000 years ago between trolls.” He started to translate the word in the piece of paper. “It is rather curious you stumbled upon this.”

Claire bit her lip. One part of her didn’t want Strickler to find out about the key and another part was curious about the word.

“Done.”

“What’s the word?”

Strickler handed her the piece of paper. “Seems you actually have thing with words. For a moment I thought it would be some gibberish, but it is a true word. I’ll write down the translated alphabet for you. It could come in handy someday. Let me get a sheet of paper.” The changeling stood up and went to the living room to find something to write on.

Claire stared down at the piece of paper in her hands. The word in English written under the original in clean cursive.

“ **Genesis**?” Claire glared at the word. "Just who are you, Ambrosia?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? How was it? Yes, Ambrosia is definitely Merlin's mom, many of you figured that one out. The other shadow is his father, but as to who exactly is he?
> 
> THAT'S the plot twist. *evil face*


	20. Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Douxie is bitten by a snake sent by the Arcane Order in order to kill him. 
> 
> Merlin is forced to face someone he was not ready to meet. 
> 
> Nimue is called to save Douxie's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the amount of words and careful planning for the next few chapters, updates might be one chapter per week instead of two or three. 4.6K words for this chapter alone and my hands are hurting. The things I do for this fandom... But I love it anyways! Douxie whump in this chapter. Enjoy!

Bellroc and Skrael stood on top of the hill, gazing upon the valley that was Arcadia. With the wards the wizards put up, they couldn’t enter themselves and Nari had stopped using her magic, so they couldn’t manipulate her to get in either.

Bellroc groaned. “When can we get there!? I want to tear them apart!”

“Patience, Bellroc. After the first attack, they will start to fall down one by one.” Skrael smirked. He pulled a small box from his cloak and turned to Bellroc.

Bellroc grinned. “Ah, yes. Excellent.” They took the box and opened it. Inside was a white snake with glowing green eyes. “Once we get Nari, the summoning will commence.”

“But first, we have to take out the wizards. Or weaken them at the very least.”

Bellroc took the snake out and placed it on the floor. “Go, my little Medusa. Find the one who defeated us and _kill him_. Make sure it’s painful.”

The snake moved past the bushes and past the magical wards around the town.

OOO

It had been two weeks since that wonderful date with Zoe.

Now Douxie was in cloud nine most of the time.

“Douxie! Pay attention when I’m talking to you!” Archie yelled.

Douxie snapped out of it. “Sorry, Archie.” Said the wizard as he tried to salvage the salmon he was cooking. His daydreams were getting a bit out of hand.

“You better stop thinking about marriage because I think Merlin wants grandchildren.”

“WHAT!?”

Archie burst out laughing. “Kidding! Look at you!”

Douxie groaned and turned back to the stove. “Careful or there will be no salmon for you.”

“I’m a good cat dragon. I love you.”

“That’s better.”

Archie rolled his eyes. “But in all seriousness, you were thinking about Zoe again, weren’t you?” The cat did not wait for a reply. “The grandchildren were a joke you know.”

“You sounded convincing.”

“I will not try pressure you two into that phase. Yet, anyways.”

Douxie glared at the familiar but said nothing. He turned off the stove and placed the salmon on a plate for Archie to eat. “Here you go.” He walked off into the living room. “Nari! Ready to go to the park?”

Nari looked up from her new phone. “Yes! Zoe texted me, she said she’ll meet us there.” She turned to Morgana. “Morgana, are you coming?”

“Of course! I was meaning to get a hot cup of coffee and sit on the benches anyways.” She put her but aside and turned to Douxie. “Is Merlin coming?”

Douxie shook his head. “I’m not sure. I’m guessing he’s working on some project. Come along Archie! Are you done?”

“Geez, give me a minute!” The familiar spoke with his mouth full. “Don’t rush me!”

While finished his meal, Douxie went to knock on Merlin’s door. “Merlin?”

Merlin opened his bedroom door just a crack and took a peak outside. “Yes?”

“Are you coming with us? We planned to go to the movies later.” Douxie said with a smile.

Merlin shook his head. “Sorry, but I have work to do.”

“Oh…” Douxie sounded disappointed. “I thought we could all use the time together, but if you’re that busy…” He sighed. “Fine. We’ll bring you some popcorn. Don’t blow up anything.” Douxie left, feeling, a bit disappointed.

Merlin sighed and closed the door. He would have gone but he knew he wasn’t the friendliest person. He knew he probably hurt Hisirdoux’s feelings by not going. But things had to be done. He headed towards his worktable in the center of the room and stared at his creations still in progress.

Armors yet to be finished. He levitated three helmets.

One a dark blue, almost black. The other smaller in size fit for a woman, in a silvery sky blue. The last one smaller than the other two in blinding silver, fit for a dragon.

OOO

They sat on a bench at the park with warm cups of coffee in hand as they supervised Nari playing around the park tree and the playground. Douxie sat on the bench arm drinking his coffee as Zoe sat beside him on the bench with Morgana on her left and Archie on the floor.

Morgana savored the coffee. “This is delicious and warm. Perfect for a night like this.”

“I know, right?” Zoe said. “Have we decided what movie are we going to watch?”

“Gone with the Wind?” Douxie suggested. “They are playing it at the theater right now.”

Zoe rolled her eyes. “As good as it is, it’s too damn long.” She frowned. “And why would they play a movie that came out back in 1939?”

Douxie shrugged. “Nostalgia, I guess. Besides, we went to see it together on the premier that time, remember?”

Archie grinned. “I had gotten you those tickets. Now I believe I can confess.”

Douxie and Zoe stared. “It was you?”

Archie frowned. “Oh, please. I’ve been trying to get you together for centuries. Don’t act so surprised.”

Morgana smiled at the familiar. “You must tell me of other endeavors you’ve gotten yourself into in the name of love.”

Douxie and Zoe blushed while Archie smirked. “Sure. I have a whole journal.”

Douxie shook his head. “I can’t believe it…” He whispered to Zoe, who simply laughed.

Nari came back from the playground. “That was fun!”

The wizards stood up. “Ready to go to the movies, then?” Zoe asked.

“Yes, let’s shall.” Said Morgana as she took the lead and the others followed.

Douxie cleared his throat. “We still haven’t decided what to watch?”

As the wizards discussed what movie to see, a white snake silently slithered across the grass, its eyes set on Douxie. Suddenly, it pounced and circled itself around Douxie’s neck, choking him.

“AAAHHHH---”

“DOUXIE!” The group yelled.

Archie pounced and tried to grab the snake, but it slapped it tail on the dragon’s face, successfully knocking him off balance. The snake sank its teeth into Douxie’s neck, successfully inserting its lethal venom into the wizard’s body. “AAAHAHHHHHH!!!!”

Nari finally managed to yank out the snake away from Douxie and glared down at it, her eyes glowing a bright yellow. The snake cowered and attempted to slip away, but Nari created a small cage made of vines and stuffed the snake inside it.

Douxie fell on his knees onto the floor with both hands holding the snake bite. “God dammit!!!”

Zoe was immidiently on his side while Morgana inspected the wound and Archie snuggled his familiar’s leg in a comforting manner.

Morgana winced. “This is no ordinary snake bite.” She intended to apply a bit of her magic on the wound, but it bounced off and Douxie whined in pain.

“You think!?” Douxie grumbled between teeth.

“Her name is Medusa.”

The wizards looked up at Nari who held the makeshift vine cage with the white snake inside it. Nari closed her eyes with a somber gaze. “It is a snake that the Arcane Order resorts to when they want to take out a specific target and not get their hands dirty. In this case, it was you, Douxie.” She sniffed. “I had completely forgotten about her, I’m so sorry…”

“It’s not your fault, Na—” Douxie coughed and struggled to find his breath. “Take me to Doctor Lake.” He said between gasps of air. “And call Merlin.”

OOO

“No! I failed!”

Jim shook his head. “And that’s why you’ll never be a good doctor, Steve.”

“Shut up, buttsnack!”

Claire, Jim, Toby, and Steve were at the Lake residence for a game night. At first, it was supposed to be the original trio, but Toby brought Steve along. When Claire questioned Toby, the boy shrugged and said, “We’ve been getting along now, Steve is behaving better.”

Claire still didn’t like Steve, but if Toby could trust him, then she would too.

Jim laughed. “ _Operation_ just isn’t your game, Steve.”

“I can beat you up at poker, what do you say?”

Toby rolled his eyes. “Maybe Dungeons and Dragons?”

“Hungry Hippos?” Claire suggested.

Suddenly, a shadow portal opened in the living room and the kids stood in fighting stances. Morgana emerged from the portal carrying Douxie bridal style and Zoe, Nari and Archie behind her.

“Douxie!” Claire exclaimed. “What happened!?”

Archie glared down at the cage in Nari’s arms. “Magical snake bite.”

“James Lake Jr! Where is your mother!?”

Barbara, upon hearing the commotion, ran from the kitchen into the living room and gasped. “Put him on the couch! I’ll go get my medical supplies!”

OOO

( _At the very moment the attack took place, 6:43 PM_ …)

Merlin gasped.

The ward that protected Arcadia had lost a source of power, only two remaining.

Something was very, _very wrong_. He summoned his staff and got into his armor. As he was about to leave the bookstore, a shadow portal appeared, and Claire poked her head out. “Merlin!”

“Lady Claire!? What happened? I felt the wards have weakened!”

“It’s Douxie! He was bitten by a snake sent by the Arcane Order; he needs your help!”

Merlin wasted no time in stepping through the portal and into the Lake living room. Hisirdoux was laid on the couch as he struggled to breath and pressed on the wound on his neck. “Hisirdoux!” He ran to his boy’s side. The boy’s hand was covered in his own blood. Merlin looked at Morgana, whose white dress shirt was stained with Hisirdoux’ blood. “What happened!?”

Morgana sighed. “He…”

“It’s my fault.” Nari interrupted and brought the cage with the snake inside. The snake hissed at Merlin and attempted to bite him too, but it was no use. “Medusa. She’s basically an assassin sent undercover. The Arcane Order was targeting Douxie.” Nari looked down. “I should have thought they would try something like this…” She sniffed. “They targeted him because he defeated them the first time.”

Merlin placed a hand on her shoulder. “It is not your fault, Nari.” He looked down at the snake. “Maybe I can make an antidote with its venom—”

“No use, Merlin.” Nari shook her head. “Medusa was created to have the most lethal venom in the world with no hope for a cure. Douxie will die!” She yelled as she sank to the floor and wept. “I’m sorry!!!”

Claire hugged Jim and Toby as they shed a few tears themselves. Steve looked away, Strickler cuddled baby Walter close, who due to his age was perceptive of the dark aura in the room. Archie curled against Douxie’s side and Zoe leaned to kiss him on the forehead, shedding a few tears herself. Morgana sobbed in the corner. Merlin looked at Barbara. “In your medical experience… How long?”

Barbara sighed. “Respiratory paralysis or cardiac arrest are possible outcomes of envenoming and both can result in hypoxia and multiorgan failure.” Barbara said. “He could have permanent damage to his nervous system as well, if he is to survive...” She placed a wet cloth on Douxie’s forehead to bring down the fever.

Zoe placed her head against Douxie’s and wept. Douxie brought up his free hand to caress her cheek.

Merlin sighed as he tried to keep his own tears from falling. “I know someone that could help, but I haven’t spoken to her in almost a millennium.”

Zoe looked up and glared. “Then call her or whatever! Force her if you have to!”

“It is not that simple, Pinky!” Merlin spat back. “I’m talking about the Lady of the Lake, Nimue! She hates me enough not to come here, so why bother!?”

“What did you do to her then? She must have a good reason!!!” Zoe yelled.

“Guys…” Douxie spoke up. Everyone turned to look at him. He panted. “Steve wants to say something.”

Steve stood with his hand up. Claire rolled his eyes. “Speak, Steve! This isn’t school!”

Steve spared a momentary glare at Claire before speaking up. “I know Nimue.”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “Of course, you do! You were there with Archie, Douxie and Lady Claire in the cave—”

“No! I mean, I know how to get in contact with her!” Steve explained. “She’s here in Arcadia and she has her own Motorolla phone!”

Claire groaned; Jim sighed. “Steve, this isn’t time to make up stuff like that—”

“It’s true, Jimbo.” Toby stepped in. “I know her too and Steve wouldn’t joke about something like this.”

Jim did a double take. “What!? Since when!?”

Steve stepped in. “I’ll explain everything later, ok!? Let me call her.” He dialed her phone number as he took a look at Douxie’s hopeless frame. He couldn’t help him. But he knew someone that could.

“Hello?” Everyone took a step back as the Lady of the Lake, in fact, picked up the phone.

“Hey, Grandma! You’re on speaker!”

“Steve! So good to hear you!” Nimue greeted. “And don’t call me grandma!”

Steve rolled his eyes. Merlin stared at the phone with a weary if not fearful look on his face. “Do you remember Douxie?”

“The wonderful young man that freed me from Merlin’s imprisonment in that blasted cave? Of course! How could I forget him?”

Some threw nasty glares at Merlin, who looked down in shame. Steve turned to the phone. “He got bit some magical snake named Medusa and he’s dying. Please, Nimue, you have to help him.”

“…How does the snake look like?”

Steve looked at the snake in Nari’s cage. “White, green eyes, looks like it wants to watch the world burn.”

Nimue sighed. “Bushigal. I’m on my way.”

Steve stared. “I didn’t even tell you where we are!!!”

Nimue groaned. “Magic, Steve. And tell Merlin that when I arrive, he better be at a minimum ten feet away from me!!!”

“Or what!?” Merlin challenged from where he stood. Jesus, that man didn’t know how to shut up, didn’t he?

“ **OR I’LL KILL YOU!!!** ” She hung up.

Merlin gulped as everyone turned to stare at him. Douxie glared with whatever strength he could master. Zoe snorted. “She seems pissed…”

Toby shook his head. “You know, you shouldn’t go off challenging your murderous ex-girlfriend.”

Archie burst out laughing. “Nimue is your ex!? I never thought you were into THAT sort of relationship!”

Merlin groaned. “She’s actually a half-troll, I based the spell that turned James into a troll on her.”

Jim glared from the corner. “We’ll have that conversation later…” He whispered to no one in particular.

“Half-troll? I thought she was a sea monster.” Morgana said.

“Both. She’s both.” Steve provided.

Claire glared at Steve and Toby. “And how come you two know her? Specially you, Palchuk…”

“It’s actually Du Lac, not Palchuk.” Toby provided. Steve hit him on the head.

“Dude!” Steve then sighed. “Fine, I’ll explain while she gets here…”

Claire blinked.

OOO

Douxie was getting worse.

Zoe was starting to feel desperate. He complained about pain. Her life partner had an inhumanly high fever and he was sweating nonstop. It was to the point he was getting a bit delirious. Morgana suspected that whatever kept him alive at this point was his magic, sheer force of will and his connection to Archie.

She gently pushed away a strand of lose hair away from his sweaty, pale face. Douxie looked up with half open eye lids and gave her a smile. Zoe smiled back, but it did not reach her eyes.

“Weird that…. That Steve is * _shiver_ * a descendant of Lancelot…” He shivered.

“Shhhh… Don’t talk. Save your strength.” She whispered.

Archie curled up close to Douxie’s face and placed a new wet cloth on his forehead. “She’s right, Douxie. Nimue should be here any minute now, she will help you.”

Meanwhile, Jim and Claire tried to squeeze any bit of information out of Steve and Toby as much as possible. “Tobes! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Nimue was training you to be a knight!”

Toby sighed. “Sorry, Jimbo. But it truly wasn’t my secret to tell.” He elbowed Steve. “You’re forgetting to tell them about the other thing.”

Steve crossed his arms. “There’s nothing else to tell.” The water magic thing. That thing. He was not ready to tell them that.

Claire glared. “Why? Is not like it can be dangerous or something.”

Steve glared back. “It’s simply none of your business, Nuñez.”

The door slammed open.

Everyone turned to see a half-troll with grey hair in a ponytail and light blue skin, blue cape, silver armor and a wooden staff with a blue gem. Her red and yellow eyes giving a sense of calm.

Nimue.

She scanned the room and her eyes landed on Merlin. She glared. “You have minus one second to get to the farthest corner of this room.”

Merlin, for once, didn’t complain and did as told. Steve stood up and hugged the Lady of the Lake. “Hi, grandma!”

Nimue sighed and patted his head. “Please, Steve, that term makes me feel old.” She gasped when she saw Douxie laying on the couch. “Hold this for me.” She gave her staff to Steve.

Barbara, who was trying to administrate some medicine for Douxie, decided to give the sorceress some space. Nimue kneeled before Douxie and touched his forehead. “Hello, it’s been a long time.”

Douxie slowly opened his eyes and saw her. “Nimue…? I thought you would be bigger…” He gave a humorless laugh.

She gave him a kind smile. “Hold on, Hisirdoux.” She hovered her hands-on top of his body. “I need to find the poison first.” She let her hands hover back and forth from his chest to his legs. She let them hover for a moment longer around the area where his heart was as the other watched in nervous anticipation. She frowned with determination and turned to Barbara and Toby. “Doctor Lake and Toby, hold down his legs.”

Barbara turned to Toby as they did what they were told. “How does she know my name?”

“She works in mysterious ways. Just go along with it.”

Nimue turned to Archie and Zoe. “You two hold him down from the shoulders.”

They did so, but not without questioning. “What are you going to do, milady?” Archie asked.

“I need to subtract the poison. It’s too magical to deal with regular medicine and too powerful to treat it directly with magic. I have to get it out.” She turned to Morgana. “Summon an enchanted flask, once I get it out, the poison will try to attack him back and it **must** be contained.” Morgana nodded.

“You’re using water magic to get it out, aren’t you?” Steve asked as he held tightly to Nimue’s staff.

Nimue nodded. “I have not taught you how to master water within a living being just yet. It’s too dangerous.”

Jim and Claire looked at Steve with wide eyes. “You… you are wizard!?” She whispered.

“Not exactly…” Steve whispered back.

Merlin stepped forward. “How can I help—”

“By staying where you are!” Nimue’s eyes glowed a bright red for a moment as she pushed Merlin back with her magic.

She turned to Douxie. “This will hurt a lot.”

Douxie nodded. “Alright…”

Nimue closed her eyes and hovered her hands once again over Douxie’s body. She closed her hands into fists and suddenly, Douxie was screaming. Barbara, Toby, Archie, and Zoe attempted to hold him still as Douxie’s body jerked and struggled against their grasp.

“AAAAHHHHHH!!!”

Zoe glared at Nimue. “You’re hurting him!”

“The poison must have already started to reach his heart, if I don’t act now, he WILL die.” Nimue made a grabbing motion with one hand and started to pull with another, slowly directing the poison towards his mouth. He started to choke and cough. Douxie’s eyes glowed a bright blue as Nimue directed the poison out of his mouth into the air, a bright nasty silver liquid. Just like Nimue had predicted, the poison attempted to go back to Douxie and finish the job.

“Morgana, the flask!” Morgana stepped forward with the flask at hand and Nimue willed the poison inside of it, sealing it away.

Douxie’s body fell back on the couch. He panted and coughed as the others let him go. Nimue hovered a hand over the boy’s heart and sighed with relief. “There’s no poison left. Steve?” She called. Steve came forward with the glass of water. Nimue levitated the water from the glass and pressed it against the bite wound on Douxie’s neck, it glowed blue. After a few moments, the wound was gone with no scar left behind, and the water was back in the glass.

Strickler looked on interested from the far corner next to Merlin. “Water magic, I’ve never met anyone with such ability. I thought it was just a myth.” He whispered.

Merlin sighed. “Many things considered impossible; she can do it.” He stared with a longing gaze.

Nimue turned to Barbara. “Doctor Lake, you may treat him now. There shouldn’t be any magical resistance.” Nimue held up the flask for the others to see. “Meanwhile, I have to get rid of the snake.”

“No!” Nari held to the cage where the snake was trapped in. “I can’t kill it! I can’t!”

Nimue looked at her with sympathetic and kneeled before her. “Nari of the Eternal Forest. I know you have power over life itself, but the snake must go. It has dark magic that can affect anyone in this room if set lose or even worse, Hisirdoux. He won’t be able to stand it a second time.”

Nari sniffed. “I just can’t bring myself to do it…”

Nimue nodded. “I know, which is why I will do it.” She gently took the cage from Nari, who looked away as she let go of the cage. “I won’t put you through that.” Nimue stood up.

“Thank you…” Nari whispered and hurried towards Morgana’s side and the sorceress comforted her. Zoe was wiping away the sweat from Douxie’s forehead as Barbara administrated medicine and first aid to the now unconscious young man.

Nimue was about to call Steve to go with her when she passed by Claire and Jim. She did a double take on Jim.

_James Lake Jr._

Nimue blinked. “Steve, please give me the staff.”

“Do I go with you?”

“No, I have another, more important job for you. Remember the healing spell I taught you with water?”

“The one for headaches and hangovers?”

“Yes, I need you to use that same water,” She pointed to the glass Steve was holding. “And use it on Hisirdoux’s forehead. He will wake up with a killer headache without magical interference on that part and it will help remove any permanent side effects. Let’s spare him that.”

Steve looked down at the glass of water and glanced around at the curious gazes now on him. Nimue smiled at him. “You’ve trained hard. I trust you with this task.”

Steve levitated the water out of the glass and gave her a shy smile. Claire gasped beside him. “What-how-WHEN!?” She grabbed her hair in frustration. “I need to sit down.”

Steve shrugged. “Nimue gave the water magic abilities to Lancelot’s descendants, so…”

Claire connected the dots and groaned. “That’s super cool, but you better not use it to prank anyone, Palchuk!”

Nimue smiled at the exchange and urged Steve to help Douxie. “Go. He needs your help.”

Steve nodded and went to place the water on Douxie’s forehead. Even though the wizard was unconscious, his features relaxed.

Nimue turned to Jim. “James Lake Jr, am I correct?”

Jim nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Mmmhh…. I thought it was you. Just checking, you’re not a half troll anymore.” Nimue walked towards the kitchen and into the backyard but Jim had decided to follow her.

Once outside, Jim turned to the half-troll. “You’re really killing the snake?”

Nimue smiled at him. “There are decisions and sacrifices we must make to protect who we love. I know you understand that better than anyone in this house. Even if Merlin hadn’t really given you a choice.”

“How do you know that?”

“I know many things, but not everything. I won’t explain, it’s too hard.”

Jim nodded. “Yeah, I know. As for what I did, I would do it all over again if I had to.” He sighed. “But I forgave Merlin.”

Nimue stared. “You… forgave him? Just like that?”

“Not really… At first, I didn’t want to, he did make me trade my humanity to save everyone, but it was never really to harm me on purpose. Besides, staying mad at him would have only made things worse. It would eat at me at the insides, until it left me bitter. I learned that when my father left…” He stared off at the woods with Nimue following his gaze. “It wasn’t easy, but we talked and he sincerely apologized. At that point I realized, it was all up to me if I wanted to stay mad at him or just let it go and leave it in the past.”

Nimue sighed. “I could never do that.”

“You don’t have to. You don’t even have to forgive him if you don’t want to. But you can start anew. Give him a second chance…” He turned to her. “Look, I don’t know what happened between you two. I know about the cave imprisonment, but there’s something else too. I think… I think he stills loves you.”

Nimue stayed quiet for a moment before speaking up. “How would you know that, Trollhunter?”

“I know I shouldn’t even be saying these things, but I was watching him while you healed Douxie. He looks at you the way I look at Claire.”

“And how do you look at Lady Claire?”

“I look at her like she’s my whole world, because she is.”

Nimue gave him a sad smile. “Wise words for such a young soul. But no amount of love can heal a wound that’s too deep.”

“I know, but you can let it scar and live on.” Said Jim. “My mother taught me that.”

“You have an exemplary mother, then.” Nimue sighed. “I don’t think I am ready to face him. Not yet, anyways. Maybe I’ll never will.”

“You don’t have to.” Jim waved it off. “So, um… do you need help with the snake?”

“No, I’m good. You should go back inside with your friend.”

“You’re right. I want to be there when he wakes up. By the way, be prepared when you go back inside, Claire may have a LOT of questions for you. Specially the water magic thing.” He chuckled as he walked back towards the house. “She can’t get it around her head that Steve, of all people, is able to do such thing.” He opened the door.

“James?” Jim turned to look at Nimue. “Thank you.”

Jim smiled. “No problem. Thank _you_ , for saving Douxie. And you can call me Jim.” He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Nimue smiled at the door before sighing. She put the cage on the floor and let the snake out. The snake tried to make an escape, but Nimue was faster that it and shot a beam of blue magic from her staff, successfully killing the snake. The corpse disintegrated into dark magic that floated away into the wind.

Nimue took out the flask with the venom and levitated it into the air. She pointed her staff at it and chanted an incantation. “ _Make it simple, make it quick; destroy this flask and all within_!”

The flask disintegrated into dark magic that like its predecessor floated off into the wind until there was nothing left, just the lingering sensation of familiar dark magic.

Nimue stared into the night sky and narrowed her eyes. “Something is not right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do review and let me know what surprised you the most in this chapter. Was it Merlin's new armors? Was it Nimue? Was it Steve?
> 
> Review!


	21. Till Death do us Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Nimue decide to finally have a talk to solve their differences...
> 
> …. That doesn't go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After almost a week! This chapter are getting longer and harder to write because now we are getting (finally) into the plot I've been scheming with since the beginning. Here's the big reveal on Nimue and Merlin's messy relationship. 
> 
> Enjoy some reading for the weekend.

Nimue walked back inside the house and saw Zoe waiting for her leaned against the counter. “Lady Zoe?”

Zoe looked up. “I wanted to apologize.”

“What for?”

She sniffed. “You were saving Douxie’s life and I accused you of hurting him.”

“Don’t.” Nimue held up a hand.

Zoe stared. “What…”

“You were in distress, as everybody was. You mustn’t apologize. Saving Hisirdoux’s life is what mattered.”

“I still treated you like shit and you are the Lady of the Lake! That’s not just any title. I didn't give you the respect you deserve.”

Nimue placed a comforting hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “It’s just a title bestowed upon me by someone that was like a mother to me. My master. But I don’t really care about titles. What I do care, however, is that you go back to that room and stay beside your beloved.” She placed a gentle hand behind Zoe’s back and guided her back to the living room.

Upon their return, Claire stood up. “Did you got rid of the snake?”

Nimue nodded. “It is done.”

“Good, because I have like a thousand questions for you.” Claire took out a pencil and a notebook. Nimue glanced at Jim, who smiled at her and nodded.

“Very well, what do you want to ask?”

OOO

Merlin kneeled beside Hisirdoux’s still, but very much alive, body. He was resting, he still had a fever, but he was out of the danger zone. Barbara rested a comforting hand on Merlin’s shoulder, startling him for a moment.

“He will be fine, he’s strong.” She said. “Thanks to Nimue, I can treat him normally.”

“Yes, thank you.” He thanked as Barbara left to the kitchen, passing by Claire trying to squeeze any magical information from Nimue. Jim had joined them as well as Toby with Steve tagging in the corner.

Archie jumped to the couch and nestled himself against the boy’s body in dragon form. “I don’t know about you, Merlin, but this whole attack seems a bit suspicious.”

Zoe, who sat near Douxie’s head, frowned. “I think they have two reasons. One would be an act of vengeance, the other must have been to weaken your wards.”

Merlin sighed. “Yes, I figured that much. Which means that if they felt the wards weaken as well, then either me or Morgana are next.”

Archie and Zoe glanced at each other. “Which means they won’t rest until they achieve that.”

“It means they have another, bigger plan set.” Merlin commented and rubbed Douxie’s hand.

“Then we need Nimue’s help.” Archie said.

“No.”

Zoe stared at Merlin. “Listen, Toolbag. I don’t know what happened between you two, but I think you are letting personal matters mess with your head.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are.” Morgana said as she stepped over to them and kneeled next to Merlin. “You should talk to her.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, especially when you three poke your noses where they don’t belong!”

Morgana glared. “So, you’d rather turn away the help of one of the most powerful sorceresses to ever exist, a helping hand that would certainly be of use… just so you don’t have to talk to her?”

Merlin groaned. “Is not that I don’t want to talk to her, it’s because she doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“ **Fine! You want to talk? Let’s talk**.”

Merlin jumped with a scream and turned around. Nimue stood there with the finest glare she could master. “I think our conversation is way overdue.” She motioned him to follow him through the front door. Merlin followed with a hesitant step.

The others went to the window overlooking the front of the house and spied on the wizards. “He’s going to die.” Toby said.

No one corrected him.

OOO

Merlin gave Nimue a weary glance as she stepped in the middle of the asphalt. To think Jim and Hisirdoux had better, more stable relationships than he ever did.

“What do you want to talk about?” Nimue asked, her back still towards him and an iron grip on her staff.

Merlin sighed. “I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?”

“For imprisoning you in that cave. I was an ass, I'll admit.”

“And…?”

Merlin stared. “For what else should I apologize for?”

Nimue finally turned to look at him. Her eyes momentarily glowed white. “What else? WHAT ELSE!?” She let out an animalistic growl. “You might a great wizard, but you are dumb as _fuck_!” Before Merlin knew it, she blasted him with a beam of white magic. The momentary surprise sent him flying back and slammed against Doctor Lake’s car.

Back inside the house, the group winced. “That’s gotta hurt.” Nari said.

Barbara glared. “They better not destroy my car.”

Merlin stood up and put up a green magical shield as soon as Nimue attacked him again. “Nimue! Listen to me!”

Nimue glared. “I’m done listening to you!” She blasted him with an even more powerful beam that sent Merlin flying across the air and landing on the asphalt on his back. Merlin looked up to see Nimue hovering on the air. Her face was tear stained.

“Nimue! I did it to protect you! Arthur was on a violent rampage against the magical world, you left me no choice! You wouldn’t cooperate!”

Nimue sobbed. “I knew how to take care of myself! I didn’t need or ever would need your protection!!!” She blasted him again, this time Merlin reflected the beam. The beam destroyed a nearby tree instead.

Nimue sobbed and cried. “You never even listened to me! You always misinterpret your visions of the future and end up hurting those you love! Especially me!!!” She yelled. “No wonder Ambrosia was so disappointed in you! You were a disgrace as a son and apprentice!!! You weren’t even a wanted child!!!”

The group stared in shock from the house. “She pulled that card, didn’t she?” Toby whispered.

“Careful, Nimue. You are stepping into dangerous territory.” Merlin calmly said.

Nimue smirked. “It wouldn’t hurt if it wasn’t true.” She mocked.

Merlin glared and attacked back with a large green beam, to which Nimue easily avoided midair. “You don’t get to talk about my mother! She was your master as well!”

“Well, she obviously preferred me over you!”

Merlin suddenly jumped and took Nimue down with him. “Then you were just an abomination she picked up on the streets!” He yelled at her.

Nimue used her staff to hit him on the face, successfully throwing him off balance. “If I’m an abomination then how am I besting the greatest wizard alive!?” She placed a hand on his chest and blasted him away with a gust of wind. She flew up again. “It was your fault I couldn’t get to say goodbye to my own son!!!”

Merlin stopped in his tracks.

 ** _Lancelot_**.

THAT’S what this is all about?

Merlin bit his lip. He screwed up big time.

“I hadn’t realized, Nimue!”

“THAT’S THE PROBLEM!!!” Nimue was about to attack when Merlin blasted her with a powerful spell. The sorceress fell backwards.

Back at the house, the group started to step outside, ready to intervene. Morgana summoned her shadow staff and Claire followed her. “You both! Stop this at once! This is getting out of hand!” Morgana yelled at them.

“You’re going to hurt each other and will make it worse!” Claire yelled back.

Merlin glared at them. “Stay away you two!” He bounded them in green magical chains and flew them back to the entrance of the house.

Jim kneeled next to Claire and tried to pull off the chains, but Morgana sighed. “It’s no use, Trollhunter. They have to be undone by another magic user.”

Claire smiled. “Zoe!”

Zoe shook her head. “Sorry, I’m a hedge witch. Even though I could do it, it could take me hours instead of seconds.”

Nimue kneeled on the ground with her hands touching the asphalt. Merlin stood up. “Nimue! Listen to me! If I’d had known—”

“You knew NOTHING!!!” She yelled back. “And it’s not just what happened in Camelot! As we grew old, you distanced yourself away from me and the rest of the world even when you claimed you loved me! You left me ALONE!!!” Her eyes glowed white.

“Nimue…” Merlin whispered.

Nimue slowly stood up, her eyes still glowed white and her staff thrown against the asphalt. “Ambrosia told us to stick together, but no! You decided you wanted to do everything on your own and casted me aside like I wasn’t your oldest friend!!!”

The ground trembled, the group lost their balance and fell butt-first on the ground. "You get all the chances! All the opportunities to have a family, apprentices! But I didn't!" Large amounts of water shot up from two manholes and surrounded Nimue. "I felt like trash! Tossed aside, ignored!"

"Nimue, please--"

“IT’S. NOT. FAIR!!!” She directed the water towards the wizard.

Merlin barely had a chance to realize what was going on until he saw Steve step in front of him and successfully parting the waters in half. The others gasped in shock. “Are you Moses!?” Toby yelled, but he was largely ignored. Jim took out his phone and took a picture of the scene. No one would ever believe him otherwise.

Steve looked up at Nimue’s shocked face, his irises had flickers of blue magic in them. “Nimue, stop it! This is isn’t you! Please!”

Nimue looked down. “You’re right, Steve. This isn’t me.” She looked. “Which is why you have to stay out of it!”

“What the--- AHH!” He yelped in pain as he felt his own organs and blood move on their own inside his body. Nimue controlled the water inside his body, successfully levitating Steve into the air and sent him flying back to the group, crashing into Morgana and Claire.

Nimue took her staff and charged it with a powerful beam of magic while Merlin did the same. Their magic shot up like fireballs before Douxie suddenly stood in the middle with his wizard stuff and his eyes glowing blue.

“ **ENOUGH!!!** ” He extended his arms to his sides and pushed the magic back to their users, successfully pushing them back.

Douxie floated in midair, his eyes still glowing blue. “Have you gotten it out of your system like fucking little children!?”

The wizards looked up in shock.

Douxie turned to Merlin. “Stand down!”

Then he turned to Nimue. “You are in all your right to be angry, but you are both adults! Ancient wizards! Act like it!” Then he started coughing and slowly descendent towards the ground where he leaned against his staff for support.

“Douxie!” Zoe, Archie and Nari ran to him. Zoe used her body to support him. Archie glared at him. “You foolish boy! You were supposed to be out cold!”

Douxie gave him a humorless laugh. “I was conscious enough to be awake, but not conscious enough to actually speak or even open my eyes. Too tired…” He panted.

Zoe gave him a sad gaze. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

OOO

Merlin and Nimue were left outside.

“--And don’t come in until you’ve talked to each other like actual adults!” Barbara yelled at them before slamming the front door in their faces.

Nimue sighed and sat down on the front stairs, Merlin joined soon after. Nimue hugged her knees and buried her face in them.

“I want you to know you are still an asshole and I won’t apologize for handing you your butt on a silver platter. But…” She sighed. “I will apologize about Ambrosia. That’s was wrong of me to say.”

Merlin sighed. “No, don’t. I should be the one apologizing to you. I treated you horribly and neglected how you felt. I kept you from one last goodbye to your son and imprisoned you because I thought my way was the best way. I casted you aside because I thought I was better off on my own. Adopting Lancelot gave you a sense of love after that. On top of everything, I locked you up and took Excalibur from you, even if Arthur was worthy of the sword at the time. I am truly sorry, Nimue.” He looked away. “I know I could never win you or your affections back. But please, tell me how to make it up to you.”

Nimue had not changed her position. She battled herself whether she should forgive him. Then, she remembers her earlier conversation with Jim.

_“Not really… At first, I didn’t want to, he did make me trade my humanity to save everyone, but it was never really to harm me on purpose. Besides, staying mad at him would have only made things worse. It would eat at me at the insides, until it left me bitter. I learned that when my father left…” He stared off at the woods with Nimue following his gaze. “It wasn’t easy, but we talked and he sincerely apologized. At that point I realized, it was all up to me if I wanted to stay mad at him or just let it go and leave it in the past.”_

_Nimue sighed. “I could never do that.”_

_“You don’t have to. You don’t even have to forgive him if you don’t want to. But you can start anew. Give him a second chance...” He turned to her. “Look, I don’t know what happened between you two. I know about the cave imprisonment, but there’s something else too. I think… I think he stills loves you.”_

Maybe Jim was onto something back there.

Nimue sighed. “No, I don’t forgive you.” She said. She finally looked at him. “It’s unforgivable. But you have always been an important person in my life, despite your many flaws.” She wiped away a tear. “I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you. But I can only offer you a second chance…”

Merlin took her hand and kissed it. “A second chance is all I need.”

Nimue jerked her hand away. “Just don’t screw it up. Like always.”

OOO

“They seem to behave like civilized adults.” Toby commented as he stepped away from the window and sat beside Douxie, who looked a little pale with a thermometer on his mouth and a blanket over his shoulders.

“They had to be stopped or something bad would have happened.” Douxie coughed. “They could have devastated the whole block, for example. Or even cause a power outrage in Arcadia. Nimue's raw power alone could have drowned us all.”

Toby shrugged. “Aside from the imminent doom, I’m glad Nimue handed Merlin his butt on a silver platter. You don't see that every day.”

Barbara took the thermometer from Douxie’s mouth and inspected it. “Your fever came down quite fast, judging you’re a wizard, it doesn’t surprise me. I think I might even let you go home tonight.”

Archie spoke up. “What do we do about those two?” He signaled outside.

Barbara frowned. “As long as they’re not fighting… Merlin goes back to your apartment. As for Nimue—”

“She lives at the lake, don’t worry.” Steve interrupted as he scrolled down on his phone. He was uncharacteristically silent.

Barbara frowned in thought. “Alright, if you say so.”

Claire frowned as she watched Steve carefully. After careful consideration, she sighed and sat down next to him. “Hey, Steve.”

“What is it, Nuñez?”

Claire’s left eye twitched and the sudden urge to fight him rose inside, but held it back. “I wanted to know if you were ok. You’re awfully quiet and we can notice that.”

Steve sighed, but didn’t say anything.

“Does it have to do with Nimue?”

Steve groaned. “You can’t leave it, can you?”

“Nope.”

“Fine.” He put his phone down. “It’s about her. I mean, is not like she controlled my body anyway!”

“Oh, Steve…”

Steve finally looked at her. “It’s like all my insides danced the macarena with my nerves and my blood felt like fire and it sucked, ok? I’m pretty sure I’ll need to take a pill or something because my hands won’t stop shaking!” He ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m sure she will apologize, Steve. I mean, you kind of stepped in the middle of a fight between two powerful wizards.” Said Claire. “Which was cool and very brave, but dangerous.”

Steve sighed. “That’s not even what I’m worried about.” He rubbed his face. “Is just… what if I could do that? What she did with my own blood? What if I hurt someone?”

Claire stared. “Steve, I’m not an expert, but I know enough magic to say that that was a very specific, highly advanced technique. I think I can say that couldn’t be able to do it. At least not now. And besides,” She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I think you proved tonight that you are competent enough. I know you will be responsible when the time comes.”

Steve gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Claire.”

OOO

Merlin and Nimue sat awkwardly beside one another.

“So, the snake…” Nimue started.

Merlin turned to her. “Did you kill it?”

“Yes. But it had a magic am I quite familiar with.” She turned to him. “ _You know who_.”

Merlin felt like he had been stabbed with Excalibur all over again.

Nimue’s eyes widened. “You had visions again, haven’t you?”

Curse that woman for knowing him too well. Merlin sighed. “Yes. Just recently.”

“You have to tell them.”

“I—”

“Your dear apprentice was attacked tonight, and it almost cost him his life. If the Order wants to take down the wards, they will go for Morgana next, I assure you that.” Nimue stated firmly. “They will do whatever is necessary to achieve their evil doings.”

“I can’t.”

Nimue frowned. “Why not?”

“Too many deaths. I cannot tell them.”

Nimue looked down. "Who?"

Merlin looked away. "...Everyone. Including you."

Nimue looked up and sighed. “Ambrosia always said they were multiple possible outcomes to a vision of the future. A vision is not necessarily what will be.” She looked up at Merlin. “You don’t need to go into details. Just tell them enough so they can be prepared.”

Merlin stayed quiet for a moment. “You’ve always known what to say, Nimue.”

The Lady of the Lake scoffed. “Don’t take it too seriously, Merlin. I’m still mad at you.”

“That I can tell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Yeah, Nimue basically bloodbended Steve and yeeted him away for his safety, because that girl was on a warpath. I will NOT stop with the Avatar references)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, you guys really are my motivation to write this story.
> 
> Review!


	22. Dreamwalker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Arcane Order does not stop and Morgana is attacked next. Her mind itself was weak from so much trauma, she was the perfect target.
> 
> Claire ventures into Morgana's mind to save her from a dreamwalker spirit.
> 
> Merlin has to confess to many things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hold on to your butts because I'm about to drop a bomb at the end of the chapter. I DID said I was including Arthurian legends... :)

When Merlin and Nimue finally walked inside the Lake residence, they were met with chaos.

Most were trying to hold down a sleeping Morgana that seemed to have a magical induced nightmare. Zoe turned to the wizards as she tried to hold down the witch. “Finally! We don’t know what’s happening!”

Before everyone knew it, Merlin held down one of Morgana’s hands with magic while Nimue did so with the other, preventing the sorceress from accidentally hurting anyone with her shadow magic.

“What happened!?” Merlin questioned the rest.

Steve held up his hands. “I don’t know!”

Claire stepped forward. “One moment we were all discussing what to have for a snack and the next thing we know, Morgana fainted and started to scream and magic going off everywhere!”

Nimue frowned and placed a hand on Morgana’s forehead, almost immidiently jerking her hand back. “A dreamwalker…”

“A what?” Jim asked.

“A fox like creature that has the ability to go inside your mind and can either make you have dreams or nightmares. Either way, your body will react accordingly, and Morgana is clearly having a nightmare. She cannot tell the difference between the nightmare and the reality.” Nimue turned to Merlin. “I told you the Arcane Order would go after her next.”

Douxie stood from the couch with a slight shake of his legs and stood next to Nimue, blanket draped over his shoulders. “Can you help her?

Nimue shook her head. “No. My magic is in no way compatible to Morgana’s and to try something now, can be extremely dangerous for both of us.”

“Why not, Lady Troll!? I mean, magic is magic, right!?” Toby asked desperately.

“I’m talking about going inside someone else’s mind. The mind is a fragile thing and Morgana had not been the most stable person until recently, correct?" Said Nimue. “If the case was different, I would have done it. But she will need familiarity. If I were to try and pull her out with my type of magic, her body will react to it as a threat and possibly kill everyone in this room.”

Silence.

“I’ll do it.”

Everyone turned to Zoe. She nodded. “A dreamwalker is like a spirit, right? I’m a necromancer, I will send it back to where it truly belongs.”

Merlin sighed. “In the physical world, yes. But it is not possible inside the mind. Someone sharing Morgana’s has to free Morgana from her mental prison and take out the dreamwalker at the same time. The dreamwalker will materialize here with us. Only then you can banish it.”

“Then I’ll do it.” Said Claire.

Jim took her hand. “Claire, is too dangerous.”

“I have to, Jim. I’m the only person we know that shares Morgana’s magic. I can save her.”

“Claire,” Nimue started. “Are you sure about this?”

Claire nodded. “It’s the only way.”

Nimue nodded. “Very well. I’ll guide you through it, but once inside Morgana’s mind, you are on your own.”

Claire sat behind Morgana’s head and placed her hands on the sorceress temples. Nimue nodded. “Good, now focus on your magic and uniting it with Morgana. Remember, find Morgana, wake her up. Careful with the dreamwalker.”

Claire took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused. She could feel a spark of magic pulling at her and before she knew it, Claire was standing in the middle of Camelot’s throne room in her handmaiden dress.

“Morgana!” She called, her voice echoing through the throne room.

Claire frowned. If she was back in Camelot, where would Morgana be? Claire stepped out of the throne and into the great hall. The atmosphere was dark, lonely, cold. The walls were dull, and the torches were off, leaving the castle in darkness.

“Morgana! It’s me, Claire!” She called.

A dark shadow moved past her.

Claire gasped and looked around. “Who’s there?”

The girl looked closer at the spot where she thought something had moved and gasped when two little girls ran off the shadows. One, Claire could assume was Morgana and the other Guinevere. She sighed as the two little girls ran past her, filling the air with echoing laughter. “They’re just memories.”

She kept walking, finding random memories of a younger Morgana, sometimes with Arthur, sometimes with Guinevere and many of a teenager Morgana with Merlin, like the one Claire found in what was supposed to be Merlin’s workshop.

_“Merlin! Arthur is bothering me again! I’m trying to study!” Teen Morgana complained to the wizard._

_“Not true! Our father, King Uther, demands us in the court room.” Teen Arthur snapped back. “Magic can wait, not to mention its useless.”_

_“Enough!” Merlin shut them off. “Your father demands YOU, Arthur. He knows that Morgana’s magic studies come first. If he had a problem, he could say it to me.”_

_Arthur glared, but left._

Claire shook her head. “Guess Arthur was always a prick.”

She walked pass the hallways, looking for the real Morgana. She stumbled upon countless memories of Morgana in her younger years.

_Morgana learning levitation spells with Merlin…_

_Morgana practicing shadow magic…_

_A small Morgana dressed in black crying into Merlin’s arms…_

_“Mama is gone!”_

_Merlin patted her head. “Death is a normal part of life, Morgana. But you shouldn’t know it at such a young age. All you can do is accept it.”_

_“I can’t live without my mama!” The small Morgana wailed._

_Merlin hugged the tiny girl. “I lost my mother too. I was young as well. Barely just a few years older than you. But she never left. She stayed in my memories of her.”_

_“I guess mama can stay in my memories too…”_

Claire gave the memory a sad glance before continuing her search. Her search took her to the courtyard, were many other memories were. There she started seeing some memories with a younger Douxie.

_“You’re doing it wrong!” Morgana said to younger Douxie._

_Douxie looked down. “I’m sorry.”_

_“Don’t be. It only means you have room to improve.”_

Claire giggled as she watched another memory of a younger Douxie sitting on top of a tree branch eating apples with Morgana by his side. In another direction, Claire saw a memory of a pretty woman in a blue dress with gorgeous red hair tied in a bun and wore a crown. A toddler Morgana ran around her legs, the woman laughed. Claire smiled, there was no doubt this was Morgana’s mother. The sorceress had grown to be the spitting image of her.

“Focus, Claire! You need to find Morgana and get the hell out of here.” She whispered to herself and ran off towards the town…

…only to suddenly find herself in Arcadia’s town center.

Claire frowned and looked down. Instead of the handmaiden dress, she was now wearing her everyday clothes. She looked around and saw many memories, more recent ones floating around. Some were of Morgana in her more modern clothes hanging out with the wizards, others were of her working at the bookstore, and others were of her and Claire when they went to the mall for the first time. “Maybe there are different memories in different places she ever lived?”

She walked around for a bit, looking at other memories. One memory was particularly heartwarming. A memory of Morgana, Douxie, Nari, Merlin and Archie all eating ice cream at a table and having a good time. “Awww…” Claire cooed.

“Well, well, well… Look what the wizard dragged in.”

Claire gasped and turned around. Several feet away from her, stood a small fox with white fur. Claire glared. “The dreamwalker…”

The fox grinned. “In the spirit.”

“Where’s Morgana?”

The fox shook its head. “The real question is **how** is Morgana. Though, not good I would say.”

“Don’t play games with me!”

The dreamwalker hovered in the air and sniffed Claire’s face. “You smell different, **yet familiar**.”

Claire frowned. “I never even met you. Now tell me where my friend is!”

The fox circled her in midair. “You call her a friend, yet, she tried to kill you twice before now.”

“It’s called forgiveness and second chances, you prick.”

The dreamwalker floated several inches away from the girl’s face. “Feels like I met you before. Or maybe I’ve met someone connected to you.” It sniffed her again.

Claire decided to play along the dreamwalker’s game, maybe it would give some information on Morgana’s whereabouts. “Maybe you have, maybe you haven’t.”

“Do you know someone named **Ambrosia of Avalon**?”

Claire stared. “Can’t say that I have.” She lied.

The fox sighed. “The greatest sorceress in the realm, the Supreme Sorceress, Queen of the Shadow Realm!”

Claire’s eyes widened. “Queen of the Shadow Realm?” She whispered.

“But a nuisance to spirits like me who just want to have fun. You smell like her. You reek of her magical scent…” The fox glared.

“The Arcane Order sent you here, didn’t they?”

“You didn’t answer my question!”

“You didn’t answer mine!”

The fox grinned. “I like you, but I also despise you.” The fox landed on the ground. “Yes, they sent me here, but I work for someone else.”

“Do tell.”

The fox grinned. “The King of Darkness.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “That’s sooooo original. Next thing you’ll tell me is that his name is Voldemort or Darth Vader.”

“Close, but not that close.”

“Enough of your games! Where’s Morgana?” Claire demanded.

The fox spirit smirked. “Right there.” He pointed to a tree nearby, where Morgana laid under its shade. “You wasted time questioning me instead of just turning around.” It chuckled.

Claire gasped and hurried towards the sorceress. She was asleep, black magic surrounded her head. “What did you do to her!?”

The fox licked its lips. “She’s under my nightmare spell. Trapped in her own mind, in her darkest memories. I believe its Arthur’s death, Arthur’s reveal as the Green Knight, Arthur, Arthur, Arthur…” It mocked. “Geez! That man sure was a nuisance.”

Claire tried to shake her up. “Morgana, you have to wake up!”

“Good luck with that! Nothing can break my spell.” The fox declared. “And when my spell is done with her, it will bring down her magic just enough to take the wards around Arcadia to its knees. If I’m not mistaken, her magic is the powerhouse for that ward.” The fox smirked. “Hopefully, it will kill her too.”

Claire glared. “I don’t care what you want or who your master is, I’m waking her up!” She placed her hand on Morgana’s forehead. “Morgana, please! Forget about Arthur, he’s gone! You started a new life with new friends and a family of crazy wizards that love you!”

Morgana shifted in her sleep.

Claire tried harder. “Without you we are lost, Morgana! You have to wake up!”

“No, she won’t!” The dreamwalker mocked behind her.

“Morgana, please! You are my friend!”

“ _Morgana, let’s make BFFs bracelets!!!_ ” The fox kept mocking her.

Claire frowned. “You are stronger than you think you are! You’ve battled things I could never imagine, and you helped me out of my hellhole when my mom called me a monster. We need you Morgana! Wake up!”

“No, she won’t!”

“Wake up!”

“The baby is sleeping!”

“Wake. Up!!!” Claire shook her shoulder.

“Experts recommend at least eight hours of beauty sleep!”

“WAKE UP!!!”

“Haven’t you heard of the sleeping beauty? She slept for over a hundred years---”

“ ** _WAKE UP!!!_** ” Claire yelled as her eyes glowed white and a blast of shadow magic pushed the dreamwalker away.

Morgana sat up with a gasp. “Claire?” She panted. “What… the dreamwalker!” She pointed at the fox. “It trapped me in a nightmare with Arthur! It seemed so real I thought it was all true.”

The fox hissed. “The girl!!! I knew she reeked of Ambrosia’s magic!!! Her stench as corrupted you!” It growled. “Pity, a shadowmancer could have made a great ally for the King of Darkness.”

Morgana put up a fighting stance, but Claire stopped her. “No time! You are out of your nightmare, but we must wake you up! Only you know your mind better than anyone! You have to find a way out.”

Morgana nodded. “Let’s go!”

“NO!” The fox pounced and attacked Claire.

“AAAHHHH!!!”

OOO

Morgana’s face twitched in discomfort while Claire’s face looked like she was in pain. Jim turned to Nimue. “Can’t we help them?”

Nimue shook her head. “We can’t interfere. This is a battle they have to fight on their own.”

Barbara, who had been giving Douxie a new douse of medicine, stood from the couch. “Why did it have to be Claire? Clearly, you are more experienced than her.”

Nimue looked at Barbara. “I have said so before, Morgana needed something familiar. By the looks of it, Claire managed to pull her from the nightmare, but they have to escape the dreamwalker first.” She turned to Zoe. “Be ready.”

OOO

Morgana blasted the fox away from Claire with her yellow magic. She helped the girl get up. “Hurry! We have no time to lose!” They ran towards another street.

The fox stood and ran after them. “Dreams and Nightmares are my domain! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!!!” The dreamwalker summoned nightmarish clones of Arthur and sent them after them.

Morgana gasped as the Arthur shadows closed in, but Claire stood her ground, eyes glowing a blinding white and blasted the clones with her shadow magic. Her magic corrupted them and turned them against the dreamwalker.

Morgana gasped. “Claire! How did you do that!?”

Claire’s eyes went back to normal. “I… I have no idea.”

“That’s a highly advanced spell you did, even I have trouble with it and yet, you did without problems!”

Claire took Morgana’s hand and made a run for it. “I have no idea what’s going on, but at this point, I think everything is related to the visions I was having!” She looked at Morgana as they ran through the streets of Dreamland Arcadia. “The dreamwalker kept mentioning my magic smelled like some ancient wizard queen’s!” They hid behind an alley way and took a moment to catch their breath.

Claire sighed. “A few nights ago, I was visited by this ghost… shadow thing… and she said her name was Ambrosia!”

Morgana frowned. “The only wizard I know with that name is Ambrosia of Avalon, said to be a powerful sorceress with powers beyond our comprehension. Queen of the Shadow Realm, where you and I pull our powers from. I always thought it was a myth just a bedtime story for young children. The Shadow Realm is such a lonely, unhabitable place. It seemed impossible that it was once ruled and inhabited.” She looked at Claire. “But now it seems more real than ever.”

“She talked to me and said to guard some sort of diamond key she gave me. It had the word ‘ _Genesis_ ’ written on it in ancient Trollish. She told me not to tell anyone, that the time will come for that, but she didn’t give me any more details and now I’m scared!” Claire looked at her hands. “Even I’m changing and that terrifies me!”

Morgana placed a hand. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Claire.” They heard a roar. “But we have to get out of here first.”

Cliare nodded. “Any ideas? I know how to shake a person awake, but waking them from inside their minds? That’s another story.”

Morgana tapped her chin and grinned. “The bookstore! If I’m correct, it should work as a safe place for us and thus, wake me up!”

Claire nodded. “I have no idea what that means, but at this point I’ll try anything. It’s your mind after all.”

They made a run for it. The bookstore was right in front of them until the dreamwalker jumped in front of them, blocking their way.

“Stop!” It yelled. “YOU!!!” It hissed at Claire. “Ambrosia spawn, how dare you!?”

Morgana shot a blast of magic at the spirit. “Leave her alone! I command you!”

“You command me!?” The fox spirit rose into the air and large shadow tentacles sprouted from its body. “You wrecked, lowlife witch! **_I AM THE DREAMWALKER!!!_** ” Its voice deepened. A tentacle shot out and attacked the witches.

“ ** _I AM THE MASTER OF DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES!_** ” Another tentacle attacked them, this time, Claire shot it with shadow magic. “ ** _I CANNOT BE COMMANDED! I AM A DEITY!_** ”

Morgana gulped. “I think I made things worse…”

“You think!?” Claire snapped second before they jumped out of the way to evade a tentacle.

“ ** _ONLY THE KING OF DARKNESS IS WORTHY TO COMMAND ME! ONLY AMBROSIA OF AVALON WAS WORTHY TO DEFY ME!_** ” The fox spirit yelled.

Claire gasped as she felt her magic start to take over and her eyes glowed white yet again, this time with sparks of shadows reeking from her eyes. Morgana gasped as Claire, as if by muscle memory, took off to the sky and shot a powerful blast of shadow magic at the dreamwalker. The spirit yelled and struggled against the magic but failed miserably. Claire used her magic to crush the spirit against the concrete street.

Morgana stared as Claire descended back to the ground. The girl gasped when her eyes went back to normal. “Claire!”

Claire took a glance at the dreamwalker as it started to stand up. “Quickly! The bookstore!” The witches quickly went inside the bookstore.

They woke up.

Claire gasped and fell backwards as Jim catches her and Morgana suddenly sat up, taking large gasps of breath. Merlin quickly inspected Morgana’s face. “Morgana! Are you alright!?”

“Yes, I believe. Thanks to Claire.” Morgana glanced at the girl, who was taking her time to recover from the shock.

“I know it might be imprudent as of now, but is your magic still powering the ward?” Merlin asked.

“Yes.” Morgana answered without a doubt. “The dreamwalker didn’t cause as much damage as it could have.”

As if speaking of the devil, the fox spirit appeared in the middle of the living room. Barbara screamed as Archie spread his wings to look intimidating and Douxie put himself between her and the spirit, despite his weakened state. Steve, Toby, Nari and Strickler took defensive stances, with the changeling securing baby Walter underneath one of his wings.

The dream walker fixed its eyes on Claire and saw red. “ ** _YOU WRECKED WITCH SPAWN!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!???_** ” The spirit was about to attack the girl until Zoe used her necromancy and created a cage where the spirit could not escape. Zoe’s irises glowed bright pink as her electricity magic zapped the spirit from all sides to keep it tame.

The group let out a collective sigh of relief as the dreamwalker calmed down. “Wicked child, how dare you defy me!?” It tried to bite at the cage, but it was no use.

Merlin stood in front of the cage. “I should’ve known it was this specific dreamwalker. I see you have not changed a bit since we last met.”

“Merlin Ambrosious.” The fox spirit hissed. “And Lady Nimue.” The fox gave Nimue and Merlin a crazed grin. “The son of the shadow and the wolf and the monster apprentice. It’s been a while! Last time I saw you both, you were younger than the twig in the blue sweater over there.” The dreamwalker referred to Jim, who frowned at being called twig.

The spirit pointed at Merlin. “You still seem like that stupid little boy that tried to defy me!” The dreamwalker mocked. “Just old and crusty! What’s the matter? Mommy dearest can’t defend you now?”

Merlin pointed his staff towards the dreamwalker. “Enough of your games, dreamwalker! What did the Order offer you in return?”

“Why would you assume such behavior from me?”

Nimue glared. “Because you never do anything for free.”

The fox grinned. “Uhh! Very true. But I’m not working for the Order, you see. They are just a pawn in my master’s great plan.”

“Who’s your master?” Merlin asked.

The fox gave the wizard an evil, maniac grin. “The **King of Darkness** himself. He will return and you cannot stop him this time!”

Merlin and Nimue went visibly pale.

“Once he is free of the chains of the Genesis Seals, chaos will rein upon the world!” It declared. “Ambrosia of Avalon is not here to stop him! His shadow army will **_SPIT ON HER GRAVE_**!!!” He laughed maniacally.

“BANISH IT!!!” Merlin yelled at Zoe.

Zoe’s eyes glowed once again and the cage that contained the dreamwalker glowed pink. A portal opened beneath the spirit and the dreamwalker fell through it. “LONG LIVE CHAOS!!!” It yelled before Zoe closed the portal.

The group panted and stayed still. Zoe fell on one knee. “Zoe!” Douxie weakly kneeled next to her. “Are you alright, love!?”

“I’m fine, Douxie. That wasn’t just any spirit. It was way too powerful for me to handle.”

Toby stood in the middle of the room. “What the hell was that!? King of Darkness? Ambrosia of Avalon!? What’s with that fox thing wanting to attack Claire!? Did Claire kick its butt!?” He pointed at Merlin and Nimue. “You two seem to know more than you let on! Spit it out! We already had not one, but TWO murder attempts in less than a night so you better start talking!!!”

Nimue sighed and gave her staff to Merlin. “Hold this for a moment.” And she walked outside. The group stared after her and they heard frantic screams outside, a dog barking and a trash can hitting the ground. They heard something between “ _Fuck!_ ” and something like “ _I don’t get a break, don’t I!?_ ”. She came back inside with a yellow recycling bin full of cans and bottles.

Barbara frowned. “Is that my recycling bin?”

Nimue nodded as she sat down in a corner of the room, hugging the bin close to her and she started to eat the soda cans. “I’m stress-eating…” She whispered.

Merlin sighed. “What do you want to know?” He asked as the attention landed back on him.

Toby crossed his arms. “For starters, who is this Ambrosia of Avalon? Seemed like you knew her and Nimue mentioned her while she handed you your ass on a silver platter!”

Morgana was about to speak up when Claire pulled on her jacket sleeve and shook her head. Morgana nodded, understanding the message, and stayed quiet.

Merlin sighed. “She… she was…” He looked down.

Nimue took over the conversation while still eating the soda cans. “She was the greatest sorceress in this realm. Known as Ambrosia of Avalon. Ruler of Glastonbury, Queen of the Shadow Realm, Keeper of Genesis, Supreme Sorceress and Friend to Dragon Kind.” She took another bite of a soda can.

Archie gasped. “So, the legends my father told me were true! They weren’t just bedtimes stories; Ambrosia of Avalon was real! I never thought a sorceress with her amount of power could exist!”

“You’re Charlemagne the Devourer’s son, correct?” Nimue asked. Archie nodded. “He knew Ambrosia as well.”

“What?! But how!?” Archie questioned. “What was she to him? To you?”

Nimue nodded. “She was Charlie’s friend and my Master.” She glanced at Merlin. “And Merlin’s mother.”

“HIS WHAT!?” The group yelled.

Claire stared as her hand subconsciously went to the pocket where the diamond key was hidden. She glanced at Morgana, who could only stare back at her in shock.

Steve ran his hands through his hair. “Holy shit, I need to sit down.”

Douxie stared at Merlin. “The most powerful witch of old legends, was your mother?”

Merlin nodded. “Yes, Hisirdoux. Ambrosia of Avalon was, indeed, my mother.” He sighed. “But that’s not what we should worry about. The worst part is yet to come.”

“The King of Darkness is by far, a bigger threat than the Arcane Order.” Nimue said as she left the recycling bin and stood up. “He is trapped inside the Genesis Seals; he is the uncontrolled, raw magic the Order wants to unleash upon the world.”

“I didn’t know that.” Nari said. “I thought it was just the magic, not someone alive!”

“And the Seals, thanks to Hisirdoux, are in the position of the Order.” Merlin said. Nimue took her staff from his hands.

Douxie frowned. “Well, excuse me! You’re welcome for saving your lives! And you never say anything, how was I supposed to know!? We don’t even have a name on this evil wizard.”

“His name is Mordred.”

“Like the evil knight from the Arthurian legends? That guy?” Claire asked. “Didn’t he wanted to kill King Arthur or something?”

“I never even heard of him.” Morgana said. “And I knew of all my brother’s enemies.”

“Yes, and no.” Merlin sighed. “I will never know how that cursed name made it pass the centuries into those legends. But I assure you, if he was the villain in that story, then he is a monster in real life.”

“How do you know him?”

Merlin stared for a moment before glancing at Nimue, who looked down. “If you hide it, you’ll only cause more trouble. You must tell them. Everything.”

Merlin sighed and came to a decision. “Mordred… _he’s my father_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... who was expecting THAT guys to be Merlin's dad??? Let me know what you thought of it.


	23. Mordred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Nimue have some things to say before fully revealing their story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. This was on purpose, because the next chapter took a lot from me and its over 5k long! Everything will be revealed in the next chapter.
> 
> Well, not everything, but most of it XD

They stared.

Merlin was sure that at this point, he managed to break them.

He sighed again, this time with annoyance. “Mordred. Ruler of the Darklands. King of Darkness. Bringer of Death.”

Silence.

“Just say something!” Merlin demanded.

Steve spoke up. “What type of antiaging cream he uses? If he’s your dad and you look like a sucked-up mango, then I want to know his secret. Because, how is he even alive and you look like my grandpa?”

Merlin’s eye twitched and Nimue struggled to keep calm and not crack up. She bit her lips and side glanced at Merlin. Merlin turned to glare at Nimue. “What’s so funny!?”

Nimue finally cracked up and rolled over on the floor in laugher.

Merlin groaned. “We don’t have time for this!!!” He headed towards the door. “I’m off to prepare a battle plan.”

Douxie took his arm and held him still. The younger master wizard glared. “No more running, Merlin. Saying something could have been the difference before and it can be now as well. Tell us everything.”

Merlin glared.

“You own us at least an explanation.” Demanded Douxie. “If not to anyone else in this room, then to me and Morgana.”

Merlin glanced at his neck and then at Morgana and sighed, feeling defeated. “Very well. But it is not a pretty story.”

Nimue had finally stood up from the floor and adopted a more serious demeanor. “I think we should start from the beginning.”

“Nope, hold on!” Jim interrupted. “Before you start, there’s something I don’t understand. If these Genesis Seals should contain him, why is he affecting the outside world now? Why not before?”

Nimue frowned to herself. “I have a theory. But it’s not a positive one.”

Jim nodded. “Alright, go on.”

Nimue pointed at Nari. “Nari.”

“Me?” Nari asked with a worried tone.

“You haven’t done anything, Nari.” Nimue assured her. “But that’s precisely the point. YOU haven’t even touched those Seals, Bellroc and Skrael have. They said they needed you to open them, correct? Mordred should not be able to do anything unless they managed to get you to help them.”

Nari nodded.

“Well, that’s a false belief and I think they realized that.”

The group stared back in shock. Nari gasped. “You mean, I’m not necessary to open them after all this time!?”

Merlin stepped in and glared at Nimue. “That can’t be right! How would you know that, Nimue?”

Nimue sighed. “Ambrosia… She trusted me with some information about the Genesis Seals, the same way she trusted Charlemagne to keep other secrets, ones I don’t even know about. Much less you.”

Merlin glared. “Why wouldn’t she tell me, then? She made sure that I was the one that kept the Seals away from the wrong hands. She stated that in her last letters.”

Nimue glared back. “Maybe you are not thinking that she wanted to spare you some of the burden and because you tend to act out without proper help!” She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “You know how she was. She liked to keep all the pieces of the puzzle away from each other, so no one could ever put them back together. She only trusted a handful of people with certain pieces.” She punched him lightly on the chest. “Because she had a plan! She always had.”

Merlin stared at the ground. “She knew Mordred would escape eventually.”

Nimue looked at him with a sad glance. “She probably did... What I do know is that she scattered the puzzles pieces for us to put back together when the time was right. That time is now. So here is my piece of the puzzle.” Nimue turned back to the group. “The information she trusted me with is this: **Anyone** can open the Seals.” As the group gasped, Nimue continued. “The Genesis Seals are far more ancient than Ambrosia ever was, she did not create them. The Seals had always been used to hold the horrors of the world, but the downside was that it didn’t matter who used the Seals. What it mattered was that they used the correct frequency of magic.”

Morgana nodded in understanding. “The Order was holding misleading information, then?”

“Yes. That was Ambrosia’s doing and boy, did she enjoyed lying to those twits. They might have found a way to open them without Nari’s direct assistance and realized that they won’t waste time on her if they can do it themselves.” Nimue turned to Nari. “Which will still prove to be difficult to do, that alone can buy us some time.”

“But the snake! And—and--- and the dreamwalker! They were sent by Mordred!” Claire exclaimed. “It doesn’t make sense! That technically shouldn’t be possible… unless…” Claire stared wide eyed. “Unless they managed to make a crack on the Seals…”

“Exactly.” Nimue affirmed.

Merlin felt his knees give out and kneeled on the floor. “No…”

“Merlin!” Douxie kneeled next to his master.

“I can’t fight him. We are not ready to face him.” He facepalmed.

Toby scoffed. “Big deal! We fought Gunmar, Morgana (no offense), King Arthur, the Arcane Order, many other side characters, and an alien turned god! What’s so different with this Mordred!?”

Merlin glared. “The difference is that Mordred has a whole army of thousands of shadows behind him, the wolf Fenrir of Norse myths is his loyal servant and he managed to kill my mother, the most powerful witch to ever exist, the only one who could stand against him and have at least a chance at defeating him.”

Strickler’s eyes widened. “Fenrir? The mythical wolf of legends? Is real!?”

Merlin nodded. “Mother had managed to trap the wolf away from Mordred’s control, which might have made the difference in our victory against him. It’s his attack dog. But her magic is long gone, and I can assure you that Fenrir has not attacked because he just awaits orders. Once Mordred is out, Fenrir will return to his master.” He stood up and adopted a sorrowful expression on his face. “Not to mention he stole the shadow army from my mother’s control around the time I was born. You want an honest opinion on this upcoming war?”

Toby nodded.

“We’re doomed.”

Toby glared. “That’s **NOT** helpful!!!”

“You banished him to the Seals, remember?” Nimue snapped. “I was there and so was Charlemagne, he can back me up!”

Merlin looked down. “I only managed to defeat him because mother had weakened him just enough!”

Claire gasped as she placed a hand on her temple.

_Fire…_

_The earth trembled…_

_Green magic versus red blood magic…_

_“MOTHER!!!”_

Claire opened her eyes. “You were that boy… from my visions…”

Nimue and Merlin snapped their head to look at Claire in shock. “What…”

Claire bit her lip after realizing what she said. “I…ugh… I had some visions for the last few weeks.” She played with her fingers. “I had told Morgana about it and she suspected I had the gift for Hindsight, but until we had more information, we decided to keep it to ourselves…”

Merlin glared at Morgana. “Why didn’t you anything!?”

Morgana glared back. “The same could be said for you!”

“Enough!” Barbara commanded. “Fighting and blaming each other won’t solve anything. What’s done its done!”

Strickler nodded. “I agree with Barbara. Like Nimue said, we must piece the puzzle together.”

Zoe stepped forward. “Same here. I think you should start with the threat first. What do we have to expect from him?”

Archie perched himself on her shoulder. “You haven’t really been clear on that part, just been very messy with the details so far.”

Nimue nodded. “Very well. Like Merlin said, it is not a pretty story. Hopefully, by knowing what happened, you will understand better.”

Merlin looked at the sorceress. “Shall I summon the time map, then?”

Nimue nodded. “It will be easier.”

With a swirl of the Staff of Avalon, the time map appeared in Merlin’s hand. Merlin opened it and reconfigured the map to a certain point in time. An image of a man with black hair that reached his shoulders, black beard, black leather clothing and a red cape. His eyes were red and his skin pale.

“He looks a bit like you.” Steve mentioned.

“I look nothing like that man!” Merlin snapped.

Nimue hit him on the head with her staff. “Don’t talk to him like that!”

Merlin rubbed his head. Nimue nodded at Steve, who smiled back. “Thanks.”

“As I was saying…” Merlin continued. “Mordred has Fenrir acting as his attack dog, his loyal servant. Usually, he would send the wolf after the minor threats, but large in amount. Like an army, for example. Fenrir can wipe them out by himself.”

“Ok, I’ll agree with you now. We’re doomed.” Toby shrugged.

“Tobes!” Jim elbowed him.

“Alright, fine! But you have to admit facing a giant wolf is pretty scary, Jimbo.”

Merlin visibly shivered. “Yes, very. Anyways, there also the shadow army.”

“That he stole from Ambrosia just after you were born, correct?” Asked Douxie.

“Correct, Hisirdoux. My mother was called Queen of the Shadow Realm for a reason and the shadow army are its former inhabitants.” Said Merlin. “I never much agreed with shadow magic, as Claire and Morgana would know.”

He cleared his throat. “It started a little over 3000 years ago—”

“—I knew you two were old but not that old.” Toby got smacked on the head by Nimue’s staff. “Ow! Sorry, geez…”

The time map revealed two children, younger in appearance than any of the ones present. Nimue was the obvious one in the picture. The only difference was that she was small, around four feet tall and her hair was a dark blue instead of the old gray she sported nowadays with a peach colored dress. Merlin was more shocking. Four feet tall, brown hair, bright smile and cream peasant shirt with brown pants and working boots.

“We were barely over ten years old when everything went down the drain.” Said Merlin as he passed the image.

The time map stopped on a tall woman in a long-sleeved black dress with a slight cleavage. She had sky blue eyes like Merlin’s, long curly black hair that reached her hips and pale skin. A very beautiful woman.

“Damn! That’s your mom!?” Steve asked.

“Yes, Ambrosia of Avalon. She wasn’t one to smile much, but she was a very kind master.” Said Nimue.

Claire stared at the image. She finally had a face to the shadow that had been taking over her thoughts recently. “She doesn’t look like a fierce, all powerful witch. No offense, but she really doesn’t look like it.”

“No, she didn’t.” Nimue commented. “But she used that to her advantage many times.”

Merlin cleared his throat. “Mother was always scheming ahead of things, always one step ahead. Even when we were a pain in the gronknuts, I’ll admit…”


	24. Ambrosia of Avalon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Nimue tell the story of their beloved mentor and how they defeated Mordred the first time...  
> ...at a great price.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was tricky to write! But I'm glad we finally get to this one. It took two dozen chapters to get this far and I really hope you like it.

( _Previously on Stuff Happens_ )

The time map revealed two children, younger in appearance than any of the ones present. Nimue was the obvious one in the picture. The only difference was that she was small, around four feet tall and her hair was a dark blue instead of the old gray she sported nowadays with a peach colored dress. Merlin was more shocking. Four feet tall, brown hair, bright smile and cream peasant shirt with brown pants and working boots.

“We were barely over ten years old when everything went down the drain.” Said Merlin as he passed the image.

The time map stopped on a tall woman in a long-sleeved black dress with a slight cleavage. She had sky blue eyes like Merlin’s, long curly black hair that reached her hips and pale skin. A very beautiful woman.

“Damn! That’s your mom!?” Steve asked.

“Yes, Ambrosia of Avalon. She wasn’t one to smile much, but she was a very kind master.” Said Nimue.

Claire stared at the image. She finally had a face to the shadow that had been taking over her thoughts recently. “She doesn’t look like a fierce, all powerful witch. No offense, but she really doesn’t look like it.”

“No, she didn’t.” Nimue commented. “But she used that to her advantage many times.”

Merlin cleared his throat. “Mother was always scheming ahead of things, always one step ahead. Even when we were a pain in the gronknuts, I’ll admit…”

OOO

**_1190 BC, in Avalon (Nowadays known as Glastonbury in England)_ **

A small castle stood in the middle of a beautiful valley. Magical creatures and a small portion of the humans at the time lived together in harmony. This place was a sanctuary for all.

As the night was young, a younger Merlin and Nimue found themselves fighting on the grassy ground. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary back in the day.

“NIMUE STOP PULLING MY HAIR—”

“YOU STARTED IT YOU PRICK---”

“Enough!” Both children stood up automatically as Ambrosia walked towards them with a stern gaze. She gave an annoyed sigh. “Who started it?”

Both children pointed at each other while looking down in shame, not daring to meet Ambrosia’s eyes.

Ambrosia groaned. “Doesn’t matter, you’re both grounded!” Both children looked up and before they could complain, she spoke with authority. “You are not even supposed to be here! You were both supposed to be studying and practicing your lessons!”

Young Merlin rolled his eyes. “Come now, mother. We haven’t gotten a break as of lately!”

“So, you can run off and end up fighting each other again?” Ambrosia crossed her arms. “You two have to put a stop to this. You are friends, partners. In a battle, you must learn to rely on your allies, not fight them.”

Merlin glared. “You are always too paranoid.”

“You do get a break.” Ambrosia said. “When you are sleeping! There is no time for anything else, your lessons come first and don’t—”

“But mother--!”

“—“ _But mother_ ” me.” Ambrosia scolded. “Nimue? Do you have something to say?”

Nimue looked down. “No, master.”

“Good. Tonight, you will be helping the kitchen staff feed the new human refugees… and please don’t eat cutlery this time, Nimue.”

Nimue bowed. “Yes, master.”

“Merlin?”

“Yes, mother?”

“You’re milking the Slor.”

“WHAT!?”

“You heard me, young man.” Ambrosia walked pass them. “I must leave now. I have important business with the dragons, then a meeting with the trolls.” She turned to them. “I expect that the tasks I gave you are completed by the time I return.”

Merlin frowned. “But why does she get to something less stinky than the Slor!?”

Ambrosia frowned. “I have told you, time and time again, that I pick your punishments based on what you need to learn. Nimue needs to learn to interact with the humans more often if she is to become a sorceress and help establish bonds between the magical and the non-magical. Also, she needs to control herself on not eating a human’s belongings. They might be food to a troll, but it’s still someone else’s property.”

“And why do I have to milk the Slor again?” Merlin crossed his arms.

“To learn a sense of humbleness, hard work and to learn how to care for other creatures. And to not talk back to your mother!”

Merlin groaned. “I don’t see the point!”

Ambrosia sighed. “You will. Someday. I hope.” She extended her hand to her side and summoned her staff. The staff was as tall as her shoulder. It was made of a purple metal and a large white gem at the top. Merlin and Nimue always stared at it in awe.

The Genesis Staff.

Ambrosia cleared her throat. “I shall be leaving. You better do as tasked.”

Merlin sighed. “Fine. Can you tell Charlie I said hi?”

Nimue nodded. “Yeah! He said he would bring over his dragonstone playset to play, but he said he’s been really busy.”

Ambrosia gave them a saddened gaze. “Yes… it’s… been quite busy. But I will send Charlemagne your greetings.”

Days later, Merlin found Ambrosia sitting in her private study with her head between her hands and quills and parchment scattered across her desk. The young wizard naturally worried. “Mother?”

Ambrosia gasped and looked up. “Merlin? What are you doing up at this hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I came to see what you were doing.”

Ambrosia gave him a tired look. “Just writing a few letters. Nothing too important.” She carefully moved said letters under a book so Merlin wouldn’t dare to peek.

“He’s getting near, right?”

Ambrosia gave him a sad look. “Not so near. He hasn’t found us.” She used shadow magic to summon a small portal and retrieved a book from the Shadow Realm. She glared at Merlin. “Don’t give me that look. Shadow Magic may be dark magic, but it depends on the user.”

Merlin frowned. “Well, it’s still dark magic and HE has no problem using it.”

Ambrosia sighed. “I hope you understand someday that not all dark magic is bad magic. Come here.”

Merlin stepped closer. “What’s that?”

Ambrosia placed the book in front of her. “It’s a small gift for you. A journal where you can write all those spells you’ve invented. Enchanted so that no fire can destroy it.”

Merlin took the book in his hands and caressed the cover. It was black with silver lines and green emeralds. Many, many years from now, he would give the exact same book to his apprentice and help him find the Genesis Seals.

“You choose emeralds because it’s my signature magic color, right mother?”

Ambrosia nodded, giving him one of her rare smiles. “Indeed. I know you will put it to good use. I also have one for Nimue, though I need to find a spell that can make it resistant to water first.”

Young Merlin smiled. “Thank you, mother. I really appreciate it.” He looked down at the book and flipped through the blank pages, his mind already putting an order of what he would write in it.

Ambrosia gave him a sad glance as she stared at her young son, hoping that the youthful joy he had now would never go away.

“There’s something else.” She stood from her chair and walked over to another desk. She picked a small wooden box and returned to Merlin. “Between you and I, Nimue doesn’t get one of these.” She handed him the box.

Merlin laughed as he took it. “If Nimue of all people doesn’t get one, then it must be especial.” He commented as he opened the box. He gasped and took out the object with a delicate hand.

“Mother… Why are you giving me your **_time map_**?”

Ambrosia smiled, masking her worries and fears. “I believe you can make great use of it. It belonged to my master, now it belongs to you.”

“But… you need this to defeat fathe—” He gulped and corrected himself. “ _Mordred_. You need this to stop Mordred.”

Ambrosia shook her head. “I don’t need it anymore. I know how Mordred will be defeated. But you must always remember…” She placed a hand over the time amp in Merlin’s hands. “No matter what happens, there are some events that must happen for life to go on. Promise me, Merlin. Promise me that no matter what happens, you will make sure that what must happen, MUST happen.”

Merlin looked at his mother’s hands. “But… why me? Why not Nimue? You trust her more…”

Ambrosia gave him a sad smile. “I trust Nimue with many other things, but you… I am entrusting with this burden.” She took off her hands and placed them behind her. “You’ll understand someday.” She gave him a playful smirk. “Besides, I know about the flowers you were going to give her.”

“Wha—wha—wha—WHAT!? HOW!?” Merlin’s face was as red as a tomato. Ambrosia laughed as Merlin covered his face in embarrassment and mumbled how he shouldn’t have trusted Charlemagne.

A few months passed since that interaction, with not much happening. Just the usual shouting matches between mother and son and days and nights full of lessons. Never ending lessons on magic. Lessons that made both children collapse in their beds by bedtime wishing they could have a normal childhood and be able to play outside. Not even other children wizard apprentices had this much work. Merlin had guessed that it was the price to pay to be the son of the most powerful witch on Earth.

Sometimes a young Charlemagne will visit and play with Merlin and Nimue. Back in that time, he was at least Merlin’s height.

“When will you grow into a huge dragon, Charlie?” Nimue asked.

Charlie shrugged. “Dragons hit growth spurts very differently. I might stay this way, or I might grow bigger than the dragon leader!” He scratched his creamy fur. “Though, I really don’t see myself with a beard when I am older.”

One night, during their few and far in between breaks to simply be children, Merlin and Nimue overheard Ambrosia in the war room. She was sitting quietly, with her head resting on her hand and her elbow on the table. She was at the end of the large table while the leaders of the magical races argued with each other. More notable, the leader of the dragons and the leader of the trolls, Kilfred with his young son Rundle, who would later become the father to one _Vendel_. The leaders of the fairies, the pixies, centaurs, and many other magical creatures were present in the room, including a representative on the humans’ behalf.

“—Ambrosia, please reconsider.” Kilfred, leader of the trolls of Dwoza, pleaded with her. “We must leave! Abandon this place--!”

The dragon leader, a large red dragon, glared at the troll leader. “Even if we do, Mordred will find us and destroy us. You will be just delaying the inevitable unless we stop him now!”

“The dragon is right!” The fairy leader, a tiny little thing, shouted in a squeaky voice. “Mordred seeks nothing but our destruction and slavery! It will be the end of the magical world unless we stop him now!”

“And what will you do? You’re tiny!” The centaur leader commented, putting his finger together to emphasize on the fairy’s size.

“But we are mighty!!!” The fairy leader pulled out a sword. It looked more like a needle, but a fierce weapon in a fairy’s hand.

The leader of the yetis slammed her fist on the table. “Stop! We mustn’t fight each other and design a proper battle plan!”

The unicorn leader nodded. “The yeti speaks truth.” The unicorn turned to the troll. “Mordred and the Shadow Army are drawing nearer with each passing minute. We must attack. It is our only chance.”

The griffin leader scoffed. “He has the Shadow Army, we were doomed from the start.”

The pixie leader nodded. “Which is why the pixies will retreat!”

The fairy leader growled. “Coward!”

“If Ambrosia had retained the Shadow Army, we would have won this battle from the start!” The pixie yelled back.

The unicorn leader frowned. “She was giving birth at the time, pay more respect!”

“To the son of the very devil!” The griffin yelled. “It made her weak enough for Mordred to take control over the inhabitants of the Shadow Realm!”

The dragon roared. “You will watch your words, griffin!”

The griffin hissed back. “Well, I don’t care what happened! The moral of the story is that she shouldn’t have slept with the King of Darkness!!!”

Silence.

Merlin and Nimue held their breath from behind the door as they listened in.

Ambrosia slowly stood; her eyes still closed. “I did not know who Mordred was when I conceived my son. The pregnancy that followed only served to weaken me enough for Mordred to take control of the Shadows. I always assumed that was his plan. He chooses to be a coward instead of fighting me directly over it. Unfortunately, it worked. I lost my subjects to his dark reign.” She opened her eyes with calmness. But her eyes were black, only one spot of white glowed in the middle of her irises. “I have sacrificed many things for my people, your people. I have suffered more than you could ever understand. Of course, Merlin wasn’t a wanted child. But he is my son, I choose to keep him, and I love him very much.” Her eyes went back to normal.

Outside of the war room, Merlin sobbed quietly as Nimue patted his back.

The griffin threw himself on the floor and kneeled before her. “Your grace, please forgive me! The griffin nation is forever in your service.” The rest of the leaders, including the proud dragon, bowed to her.

“Stand.” Ambrosia commanded; the Genesis Staff appeared on her hand. “There’s no need for bowing. I understand you speak out of fear. You all do.” She sighed. “But what is done is done. We must face Mordred, or we will perish. My sources say he has found our location and he is coming. We must prepare and fight. If not for us, then for our future generations. And if we perish, we will perish fighting for our home…” She glanced at the door, having heard a small sob, and sighed. “…and for our future.”

The dragon leader stepped forward. “Ambrosia, Friend to Dragon Kind. You helped us unify our kind, when we were too proud to admit our wrongdoings and too scared of Mordred’s staff, the Apocalyptic Vengeance. The bones of a hundred slain dragons, our ancestors, were sacrificed to make that staff. The dragons will fight by your side.”

Ambrosia nodded. “It’s all I ask.” She turned to the door. “Merlin! Nimue!”

The leader mumbled between each other as Merlin and Nimue stepped inside the room, with their head down in shame. Ambrosia sighed. “Meet me at the lake at midnight.”

The children looked at each other in confusion and looked back at Ambrosia. She nodded. “Go. That is all.”

At midnight, Merlin and Nimue sat at the edge of the lake looking at the various constellations in the sky. It didn’t seem like there was an impending doom looming over them. “You’re meant for great things, Merlin.”

Merlin sighed and adjusted his peasant shirt. “No… I’m just the unwanted son of Ambrosia of Avalon and Mordred, King of Darkness.”

Nimue looked down and smiled back. “You know… ‘ _Son of the Devil_ ’ has a ring to it.”

Merlin stared at her like she had grown a third horn.

Nimue laughed and stood up; her blue dress twirled a bit at the ends. “Imagine,” She put her hands in the air. “ _Merlin Ambrosius, Heir of Genesis, Prince of Avalon, Son of the Devil!_ You will bring fear into the hearts of your enemies!” She rested her hands on her hips.

Merlin laughed and looked up at his friend. “Maybe you’re right…”

“Should I add ‘ _Prince of the Shadow Realm_ ’?” Nimue asked as she sat down again.

“Nope. Being ruler of the Shadow Realm is not a hereditary title. Whatever mother meant with that. It’s not that I want it anyways. I don’t particularly like shadow magic.”

Nimue sighed. “At least you don’t get that burden.” She stared into the lake.

Merlin glared. “I know what you are thinking, and your responsibilities are not a burden.”

Nimue groaned. “I was given a title because of a unique type of magic I can do. Not because I earned it.”

“The title of _Lady of the Lake_ sounds amazing, Nimue. And as mother said, you’ll grow into it. You’re meant for great things.” Said Merlin.

Nimue smiled. “Thank you, Merlin. So are you. I know it.”

“Good. Because I was about to add ‘ _crazy-sea-monster-girl’_ but I think it’s unnecessary.” Mwrlin grinned.

“Hey!” Nimue growled.

“Children.”

Both Merlin and Nimue stood up and turned around. Ambrosia, in all her elegance and black dress, stood there holding two long packages wrapped in a brown cloth. “I am not here to reprimand you for listening in on the meeting, though, it is not appropriate behavior.”

Merlin looked down. “We… we overheard what Mordred did to you.”

Ambrosia sighed. “Enough. It’s in the past. Now, we must focus on our future.”

Nimue frowned. “You said that in the meeting. Focusing on the future. What did you mean with that?”

Ambrosia stared at the sky for a moment before speaking. “I meant you both.”

“Ugh!?” Merlin and Nimue glanced at each other before turning back to their master.

“Mother, forgive me, but I don’t understand.”

Ambrosia approached them; the packages still secured in her grasp. “The sun rises from the east and settles on the west and the moon shakes the foundations of the waters of the Earth. Life goes on. The Earth moves along. Even without us in it.” She took a moment to stare at their faces. “Mordred will be defeated when he arrives, but at the costs of many lives. Darkness will befall upon us, but life goes on.”

“What does that have to do with Merlin and I?”

Ambrosia smiled. “My little lady, always asking the right questions.” She sighed. “It is our burden as wizards, to preserve the life and serve those in need. Even when we ourselves suffer, it is our burden to bear…” She looked at Merlin. “I need you to promise me that no matter what happens, you will do the right thing.”

Merlin nodded. “We promise, mo—”

“I meant **you** , Merlin.”

“…Mother?”

Ambrosia sighed. “Merlin, my darling son. There’s one lesson that I have not taught you yet. It is a very important lesson. You can love so much; you care so much. You’re young and full of life and joy. But life is not fair. At all.”

Merlin kept staring at his mother, holding on to every word like it was gospel.

“There is evil in this world that you will have to face and sacrifices you will have to make. Sometimes, you must put aside your own pain to spare others of it. _Promise me_ , Merlin, that you will do the right thing when the time comes. No **_matter_** what happens.”

The young boy stared at his mother with wide eyes. So young and innocent, oblivious of the near future. “I promise, mother. But I must admit, that wasn’t very comforting.”

“It wasn’t meant to be. It was meant to be eye opening…”

Ambrosia turned to Nimue. “Nimue… my darling apprentice. You’ve come so far since I found you near a lake. Skilled, powerful, wise, kind. You’ve trained with the trolls in their usage of magic and thrived in it. You will do great things as well as Merlin. Your work will serve as a bridge to unify a kingdom. Know that I am proud of the woman you will become one day.”

“The woman I’ll become?” Nimue whispered. “Serve as a bridge to unify a kingdom? Master, I don’t understand…”

“You will with time.” Ambrosia nodded. “Lady of the Lake. A testament of where you started and what your future holds.”

The looked at both children. “Know that whatever happens, I will always be proud…” She handed them the long packages. “…of the Master Wizards you’ve become.”

The children gasped as they carefully took the packages.

“Master—”

“Mother—”

“Don’t.” Ambrosia held up a hand. “You are barely a decade old and usually, this is not the age for you to become a master wizard. But you’ve excelled in every task I gave you; you have more knowledge in a finger than a regular wizard. You, my children, are special.”

Nimue and Merlin looked down at their packages and carefully opened them. They stared back at their wizard staffs. Nimue held hers. Due to her age and height, the staff was a bit larger than her with a glowing blue gem sitting on top of the wooden staff. Merlin stared at his reflection in the green gem of his staff. He held it up. It was bigger than Nimue’s and certainly bigger than him, but he could manage.

The children smiled at each other as they talked excitingly and inspected each other’s staffs. Ambrosia looked at them with a longing gaze. She focused on their laughter, their smiles, and their bright eyes full of childish wonder. Things she wanted to take with her, burn them in her memory.

A single tear escaped her eye and ran across her cheek. She quickly dried it before they could notice. “Come, my children. There is one lesson left.” She walked pass them and sat at the edge of the lake. Merlin and Nimue sat at each of her side.

“Master? What is this lesson?” Nimue asked as she put down her staff by her side.

“Will it be how to create huge magical explosions with the staffs?” Merlin asked with hopeful excitement in his eyes.

Ambrosia couldn’t help but chuckle. “No, my children.” She placed an arm over their shoulders and pulled them close to her. “This lesson is called ‘ _Sit back, relax, and cherish the world around you’_.”

The children leaned closer to her as they all stared back at the night sky. The constellations smiling upon them. Merlin looked up at his mother. “I love you, mother.”

Ambrosia planted a kiss on top of his head. “I love you too, my son. More than you’ll ever know.”

They spend the rest of the night cherishing the constellations in the night sky.

OOO

( _In the Present_ …)

The trollhunters, wizards and local doctor stared at Merlin and Nimue as they finished telling them about Ambrosia. Some of them had opted to sit on the floor.

“Whoa, what a story.” Jim mumbled. “I think your mom was a great person, Merlin.”

“That she was, lad.” Merlin nodded.

Douxie stared at his master. “But making you two master wizards at such a young age doesn’t make sense. Why would she?”

Nimue sighed. “As we told, Ambrosia gave Merlin the time map and charged him to protect it.”

“We always believed she knew what would happen to her. She just kept everything a secret, otherwise, we wouldn’t have succeeded.” Merlin continued.

“Hold up!” Toby stood up. “You’re telling me, Ambrosia knew she was going to die, but why? Why wouldn’t she tell you? Didn’t you said earlier that she was the only one that could defeat Mordred?”

“Yes, fatty.” Merlin rolled his eyes. “She knew. She was the only one that could go against him and win.”

“Then why didn’t she win?” Zoe asked.

Nimue and Merlin gave each other a glance before answering. “Because of us.”

OOO

War was cold and bloody.

The night had fallen, the moon had turned red.

What Avalon once was now was a battlefield. Dragons fought in midair against flying shadow monsters while other magical creatures fought the rest of the shadow army on the ground. Buildings were burnt to ashes; trees went up in flames.

Fenrir the wolf had been banished away by Ambrosia as soon as the wolf made himself present on the battlefield. The real target was Mordred.

Merlin and Nimue fought side by side, but not too far off the main battle between Mordred and Ambrosia. The two legendary wizards fought in midair, chasing each other like a rabbit and a fox. Them magics collided in explosions of red and purple and black.

The dark wizard’s red cape flowed against the wind. The Queen’s dress ripped at the hems. Mordred had growled at Ambrosia and pointed the Apocalyptic Vengeance at her while Ambrosia pointed the Genesis Staff at him.

It had all happened too fast.

Mordred’s red eyes spotted Merlin and Nimue though his dark hair bangs and instead of directing the magical blast at Ambrosia, he shot at them. Ambrosia flew off and pushed the children out of the deadly attack.

“NO!” She screamed as she pushed the children away with the Genesis Staff. Merlin crashed into Nimue and into the dirt. They were out of harm’s way.

Ambrosia wasn’t so lucky.

Merlin’s eyes widened. “No…” He whispered. Nimue could barely breath.

Ambrosia held a hand over her abdomen as purple magic poured out of her like blood. She gasped and glanced at the children. “I’m sorry, my children….” She whispered. Mordred was approaching at high speeds. A single tear fell from her eyes, mirroring Merlin and Nimue’s tears.

“Remember, no matter what happens… And Merlin, don’t--”

“—But mother---!”

“—“ _But mother_ ” me…” She said with a slight smile.

She turned to face Mordred, who was just mere seconds of reaching her. She raised the Genesis Staff. The white gem emitted a bright glow and the staff started to disappear. “Return and Await!!!” She yelled and the staff disappeared.

“NO!” Mordred growled. “I NEEDED THAT STAFF!!!” He raised the Apocalyptic Vengeance.

Ambrosia closed her eyes and peacefully waited her end.

Mordred, in all his rage, blasted her with a great beam of red magic. Her screams echoed across the battlefield and every fighter stopped to see Mordred hovering in midair with a pant but a victorious smile on his face. Ambrosia’s still body meters away from him. “The Genesis Staff may be hidden somewhere, but no matter…” He said. “AMBROSIA OF AVALON IS DEAD!!!” He shot a large red beam to the sky, signaling the shadows to kill with no mercy.

Merlin and Nimue ran to Ambrosia’s still body. “No, no, no, no, no… Mother, please…” Merlin touched her face.

“Master?” Nimue whimpered. She sobbed. “No, please…”

“Mother, please wake up!” Merlin pleaded. “We need you! MOTHER!” He screamed and cried, but nothing would wake her up.

She wasn’t going to.

Merlin gently took her body and hugged her, Nimue hugged him from behind. “Please, no… We’re not ready…” He gasped as his mother’s body turned to ashes and scattered away by the wind.

Merlin let out an agonizing scream and Nimue kneeled on the dirt, her body trembling. The children cried, the battle still going strong around them.

“Merlin…” Nimue whispered.

Merlin glared at the ground, tears falling from his face. “It’s not fair!”

“Merlin…” Nimue shook his shoulder. The boy looked at her with a pitiful glance. Nimue nodded. “She warned us. She prepared us for this… She weakened him so we could defeat him.” Nimue sobbed. “No matter what happens…”

“No matter what happens…” Merlin sobbed. “I promised her.” He shockingly stood up and took his staff. He glanced at his reflection in the Staff of Avalon. The boy that stared back, still cried, but now he was beyond angry and determined. “No matter what happens…”

Mordred had completely forgotten about the children as he gloated in his victory. He hovered in midair, shouting like a mad man. The magical creatures were losing the fight and without Ambrosia, they were lost. Suddenly, Merlin flew up to Mordred and with a battle cry, he used his staff to knock Mordred out of balance and blasted him with a green beam of magic. Nimue used her water magic to try and drown him, but Mordred managed to escape and landed on the floor. He coughed whatever water had managed to get into his lungs. The dark wizard looked up. A gust of wind made his black robes dance in the air.

Merlin floated in midair, surrounded by a sphere of green magic and his eyes glowed a bright green. Nimue hovered above him with eyes glowing white and water surrounded her. Never in his life had Mordred seen pathetic little children look downright menacing.

“The abomination of a half-troll, I know of.” Mordred said as he floated back up. “But you, boy… Who are you?”

Merlin barred his teeth. “I’M MERLIN AMBROSIOUS, PRINCE OF AVALON! AND YOU—” Merlin pointed at Mordred. Two tears ran down the young boy’s face and whispered in a small voice. “…you just killed my mother.”

Mordred nodded in understanding. “Ahhh… You are my bastard son. Now I remember. Nice to finally meet you.” He attacked with a beam of red magic that Merlin easily avoided. Merlin responded with a larger attack that knocked the wizard off balance.

What followed was a battle between former apprentices and dark wizard. The battle on the ground kept going. Merlin and Nimue spared no expense when it came to their attacks. Mordred found himself confused and unbalanced by the fact that two children had this amount of power. “I will not let children defeat me!” He attacked back.

The dark wizards flew towards Merlin and punched him in the abdomen. They boy's eyes widened and coughed blood. Nimue flew towards Mordred and pulled at his long black hair. "Get away from him!" She shot a powerful beam of magic at his face, successfully pushing him away from Merlin.

Charlemagne flew by, carrying the Genesis Seals in hand. “Merlin!” He threw them to the boy. Merlin caught them.

“Nimue! Now!”

Nimue used Mordred’s temporary surprise and trapped him in a bubble of water, away from his staff. Merlin placed the Genesis Seals on the floor. “My mother trusted me on keeping her legacy alive! I’ll keep this world safe by any means necessary!” Said the boy with tears in his eyes. He balanced his staff in front of him and let his eyes glow green. “SIGILIA!”

Mordred poked his head out of the water bubble. “NO! I will not be defeated by mere children!”

“ _INFRACTUM!_ ”

Nimue struggled against Mordred’s magic trying to corrupt her own. “Merlin! Do it NOW!!!” She yelled.

“ ** _CAUSERA!!!”_**

The Genesis Seals opened, and a tornado of raw magic erupted into the sky. The magical creatures surrounding the area screamed and fled away. Merlin was almost pushed away by the magic, but he managed to keep his position, for he had to ensure Mordred’s imprisonment.

Nimue pushed the water bubble into the tornado and let go of her hold on it. Mordred soon found himself trapped in the tornado as the Genesis Seals slowly sucked him in. He had managed to conjure the Apocalyptic Vengeance to him, but the staff was no use. “No…” He whispered to himself and glared at Merlin. “This is not the last time you will see me! I’ll kill you and your little troll friend in cold blood, just like I did to your mother!”

Merlin shed a few tears through his glowing green eyes. He sobbed. He was just a child thrown into a war he didn't had to fight. He was frightened, he was trembling. His mother trusted him with this. He focused his magic into pushing Mordred further into the Genesis Seals, yelling as he did so. Suddenly, the shadow army floated into the air one by one and were sucked into the magical tornado.

Mordred growled. “You may capture me; but you will never be powerful enough to kill me! You are not a wielder of the Genesis Staff!” He yelled as half of his body was pulled into the vortex. “Enjoy your little victory while it lasts! I will hunt you in your nightmares! Be the bane of your existence! The world will never be safe from the King of Darkness!!!”

Merlin let another tear fall. “Save your bushigal, Mordred! You killed my mother!!!” He gave him a deadly glare. “You can rot in hell.” He whispered.

He extended his arms into the air and brought them down. The tornado of raw magic imitated his movements and pushed itself back inside the Genesis Seals, dragging Mordred with it. The Seals locked themselves and then it was done.

The only sound was the echoes of Mordred’s enraged screams carried by the wind.

Merlin fell to his knees and his staff fell next to him. “Merlin!” Nimue yelled and ran to him. “Merlin?”

“She’s gone, Nimue…” Said Merlin, his voice sounded defeated. “Mother is gone…” He sniffed. “We’re never going to see her again…” He cried. Nimue pulled him close and hugged him tightly.

“I miss her too…” She cried.

Charlemagne soared down into the ground. He slowly walked towards the children. Being smaller and younger than the rest of the dragons in the battlefield, he was not noticed until he pulled his friends into a tight hug, covering them with his wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sobs*  
> Sorry, I got something stuck in my eye. Let me know how much you cried.


	25. Back to Basics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara forbids anyone to go anywhere unless they get some sleep. The group visits Blinky's library in seek of answers. Zoe and Douxie have a moment to talk. Nimue apologizes to Steve.  
> Merlin decides to make Blinky's life miserable for flirting with Nimue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, last chapter we got Ambrosia's full story and Merlin and Nimue's background. Now the group really knows what's at stake. Shit is about to get real.

The morning sun was beginning to emerge when Merlin finished the last part of the story and closed the time map.

The group stared anywhere that wasn’t at the eldest wizards in the room. Steve played with the hem of his shirt and glanced at Nimue with sad eyes, Jim and Claire held hands, Toby sniffed at the tragic story. Barbara and Strickler tried to console the children. Morgana had walked to a corner of the living room with her back towards them. Zoe, Archie and Douxie looked down, Douxie being the only one that dared to look at Merlin’s face.

He had never seen his master cry before.

Merlin had seemed to notice Douxie staring at him and quickly wiped away his tears before anyone else saw him. “That’s the story. Now, don’t look so distraught. It’s in the past.” Said the wizard.

Jim looked up. “We’re sorry about Ambrosia. What happened was awful…”

Nimue sighed. “Well… like Merlin said… its in the past. We just hope that the story we just told you brings in perspective what is at stake.”

Toby sighed. “You were right, Merlin.” He stood up. “WE’RE DOOMED!!!” He ran around the living room and waved his arms in the air.

“Toby! Calm down!” Jim tried to calm his friend down, but it was in vain.

“Calm down, Jimbo!? CALM DOWN!?” Toby pointed at Merlin. “His sperm donor is basically the devil himself!” Toby turned to Merlin. “Now I see why the legends call you son of the devil!”

Merlin shrugged.

Barbara played with her fingers. “There must be something that we can do! He must have a weakness!”

“Wait a minute!” Zoe interrupted. She turned to Nimue. “Didn’t Mordred say something about a _Genesis Staff_ or whatever? Wasn’t that Ambrosia’s legendary staff? Sounded like he was legit afraid.”

Nimue gasped. “That’s it! We need to find the Genesis Staff!”

“Oh, what a great idea, Nimue!” Merlin said not bothering to hide the sarcasm. “Why hadn’t I thought of it before?” He tapped his chin. “Oh right… We don’t know where it is!” He threw his hands in the air to make a point. “Mother never told us anything!”

Claire nodded. “Oh! Like mother, like son?” She crossed her arms with a smirk. “Omitting important information must be a family trait.”

Merlin turned to her and pointed an accusing finger at her, but no words came out. He curled his hand into a fist and pulled it close to his mouth. “You know, I never noticed I got that trait from her. Good point.”

Toby took deep, panicked gasps of air. “Ok, a dark ancient wizard is coming back to kill us all and we don’t know the whereabouts of the weapon that can destroy him once and for all!” He gave a nervous laugh. “Ha! Ha! No pressure!”

Steve patted Toby on the shoulder and turned to the wizards. “What exactly is this Genesis Staff? Why is it the only thing that can destroy him?”

“We don’t really know much about the staff.” Said Nimue. “It is the only staff in existence that can be inherited by a chosen heir. Mordred is terrified of it. Ambrosia always said it was knowledge that was only available to any chosen wilder of the staff.”

“That’s not helpful…” Zoe mumbled.

“But what we DO know is that its connected to being ruler of the Shadow Realm.”

“Cool, but still not helpful.”

Morgana finally made herself known. “If only we had some sort of magical library that could have more information. Maybe a clue to its whereabouts.”

Douxie shook his head. “The bookstore is out of the question. I know every single book in there and there is nothing about the Genesis Staff.”

“Guys?” Jim asked. “Why don’t we go back to basics?”

The group stared at him.

“Who has a library full of information on all things magic?”

They kept staring.

Jim sighed. “Blinky! If anyone may have information, Blinky can help us.”

They all made a collective “Ohhh…”

“I’ve never been to Trollmarket.” Said Nimue.

Jim smiled. “You’ll love it.”

“Great! Let’s g--- Ahhh!” Nimue flinched back when a ray of sun burned her hand. She dropped her staff and walked back, holding her burned hand.

“Oh, right! You’re a half troll!” Jim facepalmed. “Maybe we should take the underground tunnel then.”

“Hold up!” Barbara stood up. “No one is going anywhere!”

“But, mom—”

“No one here has had a proper good night’s sleep and it took hours for Nimue and Merlin to finish their story. Its barely six in the morning and Douxie needs some rest, so does Morgana and everyone in this room.” Barbara turned to the group. “You are staying here and sleep for, at the very least, the next five hours. Then, you will get lunch and only then you can go to Trollmarket. Doctor’s orders.”

“Yes, Doctor Lake.” The group agreed with discontent.

Nimue sighed. “Well, I’ll just go ahead. I don’t need sleep anyway.”

“You don’t?” Claire asked.

“Nope.” Nimue said as she gave a nervous laugh and tried to get away.

Suddenly, someone scratched behind her ears. Her body completely relaxed and quickly fell to the floor. She started snore lightly and cuddled her staff close to her like a teddy bear.

The group turned to glare at Merlin, who shrugged. “What? Mother used to do the same when we were children. Nimue never liked being told to go to sleep. I’m surprised it still works.”

“Which reminds me,” Said Steve. “Care to tell us about your romantic relationship?”

“Hehehe… No.”

OOO

After a full morning of resting and a plentiful lunch courtesy of Jim, the group divided. Morgana, Zoe, Archie and Douxie went back to the apartment to allow Morgana and Douxie some extra time to rest. They would join the rest at Trollmarket later.

Meanwhile, Jim, Toby and Claire took Merlin and Nimue down to Trollmarket to meet Blinky. Steve tagged along as well. Nimue had tagged along on the back of the group with Steve. The teenager was awfully quiet and not his usual chatty self. The group ahead of them talked and theorized between each other what could be done with the upcoming battle, but Nimue and Steve were quiet with each other. There was an awkward silence between them. Nimue sighed.

“Steve?”

No answer. The boy kept looking down at the dirt path.

Nimue gave him a sad glance. “Look. I wasn’t in my right mind when I was fighting Merlin. I know what I did to you was painful. I bended your blood to my will and that’s despicable. To my own family…”

Steve glanced at her. “What was that? What you did to me back there.”

Nimue sighed. “It’s Blood Magic. It’s, in its essence, the dark magic version of Water Magic. You will learn it someday. But that day is very far off.” She turned her head back to him. “I’m sorry, Steve. I truly am.”

Steve took a moment before sighing and smiling at her. “It’s ok. You’re still my grandma.”

“Don’t call me—” Nimue sighed. “Nevermind.” She smiled at him. She placed an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a side hug.

OOO

Douxie stared out of the window in his apartment. The street outside had its usual activity, People walking, cars passing by, the usual. He sighed. He rubbed his face and walked back to the couch. He laid on it and covered himself with a blanket. The world was about to end again for like what, the fourth… fifth time in this year? He lost count.

He still had to come to terms that he almost died in no less than twenty-four hours ago. By a snake bite, of all things. He knew it wasn’t just any snake, but a killer snake sent by the Order to specifically terminate his existence. They didn’t manage to kill him, sure, but now he was feeling sick and weak. His magic couldn’t be integrated back into the ward because that would mean they’d have to take it down and pull it up again. With the Order lurking dangerously close, that was not an option.

Morgana almost died too. Douxie would say they went a little low with her, attacking her from her own mind, her own fears, and struggles. Douxie was relieved that Morgana’s therapy sessions had helped her to be more confident and not blame herself. Otherwise, he was sure that the Morgana that currently slept on the other side of the couch would be a complete, chaotic mess. The Order didn’t consider how strong she could be.

Nari and Archie were curled against Morgana as they slept as well. Douxie sighed. At least her magic still powered the wards. They’d be dead by now if that wasn’t the case.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Zoe whispered as she emerged back from the kitchen.

“Can’t sleep. Too much on my mind.” He whispered back.

Zoe rolled her eyes. “Come here, let’s sit at the table then. I made hot chocolate.”

Douxie stood up, a bit of pain jolted through his body, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He sat at the chair across from Zoe. Zoe pushed a cup of hot chocolate into his hands. “Drink up, Casperan. You need strength.”

“Thanks, Zoe.” He drank a bit.

Zoe looked down at her cup. “You almost died last night.”

Douxie gave her a soft smile. “Zoe, I’ve almost died a couple of times in the centuries—”

“—Not like this.” She interrupted. “Someone wanted to kill you. Someone tried to kill you and almost succeeded! It was a vengeance act! Douxie…” She sobbed. “Not even the witch trials compare to this! I saw how your life was vanishing and we couldn’t do anything to help you, not even Merlin! If it hadn’t been for Nimue…” She cried. “You were in so much pain.” Her voice cracked.

“Zoe…” Douxie whispered.

Zoe continued to cry, attempting to wipe away her tears. “You bastard! You almost left us for good! Just when we got to say how we really felt about each other.” She sobbed. “Morgana almost left us too if it hadn’t been for Claire…”

“Zoe…” Douxie pulled her close for a hug. His eyes watering. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t, HisirDOUCHE.” Zoe hugged him back. “If anything, is the Order’s fault and by consequence, Mordred’s.” She frowned. “You were never at fault. Just don’t scare me like that again.”

Douxie gave her a chuckle as tears fell from his eyes. “I’ll try not to, love. I’ll try…”

“You better. Or I’ll bury you alive.”

Douxie laughed. “I love you, Zoe.”

“I love you too, Douxie. I love you so much it actually pains me.”

OOO

Merlin was used to being the wizard that gathered the attention.

…though this time he had to share the spotlight.

“Whoa! The Lady of the Lake is a troll?”

“By Deya’s grace! I’m amazed!”

“Can you do troll magic like Vendel?”

This were some of the comments they encountered as the trollhunters answered some of the questions, with Nimue answering some as well. She was well liked by the trolls. Usually, she was the most liked person in the room, unlike himself. So, excuse him if he was being a little salty.

They reached Blinky’s library, where said troll and Arrrgghh were discussing some things. More like Arrrgghh trying to keep Blinky from killing Dictatious, but don’t tell them that.

“Blinky?” Jim called.

Blinky quickly forgot about his brother. “Master Jim? Oh, how great to see you here!” He grabbed the boy and pulled him into a tight hug, completely forgetting about choking his brother. “Fair Lady Claire! Tobias!” He pulled them as well for the hug. “Sir Steve!” He greeted and pulled him for the hug with his fourth arm. He looked up and frowned. “Oh. And Merlin…”

Merlin in turn, frowned.

“I’d be careful if I were you.” Said Blinky as he let go of the children. “Nomura is still on a blood path for you.”

Dictatious walked towards the table with a bit of help from Arrrgghh. “Not to mention that she publicly declared she wanted your head on a stick.” He commented as he sat down.

“One wrong step and you’ll be dead.” Arrrgghh provided.

Merlin rolled his eyes. “She’s the least of my worries right now.”

Blinky looked behind Merlin. “Who is this?”

Arrrgghh smiled. “Pretty…”

Steve smirked. “Ladies and Gentletrolls! I present to you, Nimue! The Lady of the Lake!”

Nimue smiled. “Hello.”

Blinky gasped. “The Lady of the Lake is a troll!?” He fell to his knees and bowed. “By Deya’s grace!” Arrrgghh bowed in one knee and Dictatious simply fell from his chair while attempting to bow.

Nimue waved her hands. “Please! No need to bow!”

Blinky stood up. “It is an honor to meet you, milady. I’m Blinkous Galadrigal, Elder Troll of Trollmarket. I must say, your beauty is beyond compare.” He said with a slight blush.

“And I can’t see her…” Dictatious whined.

“The honor is all mine.” Said Nimue with a smile. Blinky laughed with a bit of a blush.

Merlin stared between Blinky and Nimue with a frown. Did he just…? Did that troll really just…? To Nimue…? Merlin made himself a new mental note:

\-- _Make that troll’s life **MISERABLE**_.

“Shouldn’t you be attending to your blind brother over there?” Merlin said.

“Who? Dictatious? He can take care of himself.” Said Blinky offhandedly.

“No, I can’t… I’m blind.” Dictatious murmured a bit pitifully, but he was largely ignored. Only receiving a pat on the back from Arrrgghh.

“That’s awfully evil of you.” Said Merlin.

“Thank you… you _prick_.” Blinky rolled his eyes and smiled back at the children. “What brings you to Trollmarket? A Gnome infestation? Goblins? Or let me guess…” He laughed. “The end of the world?” He laughed again.

Jim winced. “Yes. The last one.”

Blinky stopped laughing and stared at the children. He sighed. “Me and my big mouth…” He whispered. He took a deep breath. “What wants to permanently terminate our short lives on this earth? Did Morgana go evil on us again? No, that can’t be right! She gave us back our home.” He glared at Merlin. “Did you go evil!? I knew it, you scum of the earth!” He shook his fist into the air.

Toby cleared his throat. “In summary, Merlin is the son of a powerful legendary sorceress named Ambrosia of Avalon that was also a queen and she was one of the good guys. She was also Nimue’s master. Nimue and Merlin had some romance thing going on, but that’s a whole can of worms for another day. Anyway, the problem is that Merlin is also is the son of an evil wizard named Mordred who is called King of Darkness and wants to destroy the world. Papa Mordred is currently trapped inside the Genesis Seals and the Arcane Order probably found a way to liberate him and it’s only a matter of time before he is released and kills us all with his shadow army, who he stole from Merlin’s mom. So, we need to find information on the Genesis Staff, which was Merlin’s momma’s staff, because it can destroy Mordred, who is the baby daddy, once and for all. Also, he has a staff called the Apocalyptic Vengeance which will probably give me nightmares and it’s made out of dragon bones. Any questions?”

“Many!” Dictatious exclaimed.

Blinky glared at Merlin again. “I knew you were the bane of my existence!”

“Oh, I know! I take great pleasure in doing so.” Said Merlin with a smirk.

“Why, you---"

Claire gave him a smile. “Can you help us, Blinky?”

Blinky tapped his chin. “There is barely any information on what you are asking me, but surely there must be something in this library!”

“No need, brother.” Dictatious said and everyone turned to look at him. “Do you still have the leatherbound, relic book I gotten from a vendor back in Dwoza?”

“No, I burnt it away with the rest of your junk.”

“ ** _WHAT!?_** ” Dictatious turned to Blinky’s direction even though he couldn’t see him. “That book was highly valuable and was written in ancient trollish!” To say that Dictatious was on the brink of a heart attack was an understatement.

“So?” Blinky shrugged. “I let that baby burn!”

“That book had the exact information we need as of now, you dumbass!” He slammed his fist on the table. “You successfully signed our death sentence thanks to your pettiness, Blinkous!”

“In my defense, you turned out to be a traitor working for Gunmar at the time!” Yelled Blinky. “How was I supposed to know that book would mean life or death at this moment in time!?” He snapped. “And if it was the exact information we need, why don’t you tell us about it?”

Dictatious frowned, though at the direction he was doing so, Blinky wasn’t there. “It was ancient trollish! I was barely beginning to understand it! I could only make bits and pieces of it!”

Nimue stepped in. “Trolls! Please! We mustn’t fight between each other.” She turned to Blinky. “Mr. Blinky, do you know where you disposed the ashes of these books? Maybe I can restore them with Merlin’s help.”

Blinky scratched his head. “Well…um…”

Jim arched an eyebrow. “Well? Where are they, Blinky?”

“Well…”

_(Flashback…)_

_Blinky dropped the pile of book ashes into the lava river and laughed manically. “Burn, baby, burn!!! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!”_

_(End of Flashback)_

“I dumped them into the lava river by the Heroes Forge. For good measure.” He gave them a nervous smile.

Silence.

Dictatious slammed his head on the table as Arrrgghh slowly comforted the crying troll. Dictatious sobbed. “Why are you like this, brother!?” He cried.

Merlin and the children winced. Nimue facepalmed. Toby shook his head. “Whoa, Blinky. Your levels of pettiness are legendary.”

“Congratulations, troll!” Merlin said. “We’re all going to die.”

Nimue passed back and forth without saying a word. “Think, Nimue… think…” She whispered to herself.

Claire stared at the sorceress and bit her lip. She patted the diamond key in her pocket, deciding whether or not she should tell them about it. A little voice on the back of her head fought against that decision and Claire decided to let it be for now.

“Dictatious, is it?” Nimue spoke. “Can you at least tell us what you remember of this book? Please, any details might be crucial.”

Dictatious tapped his chin. “Let me think… It’s been a long time…”

“Yes, a long time fraternizing with the enemy…” Blinky mumbled. Jim patted him on the shoulder.

“Now might be a good time to leave your pettiness aside for a moment.” Jim whispered at his father figure. “You have to let it go at some point.”

Dictatious put his hands on the table. “I do remember it was a book of old legends, now lost to time. I do remember reading the name of Ambrosia of Avalon a couple of times in its pages. There was also a poem, sounded more like a riddle to me. It was one of the few things I could decipher.”

“Do you remember it?” Merlin asked.

Dictatious nodded. “I believe so. It had a catchy rhythm to it.” He cleared his throat. “ _Day and Night, Sun and Moon, Life goes on, Earth Moves along. Darkness will befall, but light shines bright. Move forward, the answers are near. Within my old friend, what you seek will appear. My little lady, my darling son_. Or something like that, I believe.” Dictatious tapped his chin. “Now that I think of it, it sounds more like a lullaby of sorts for children. For some reason, that’s all I can remember.”

Merlin looked at Nimue. “You think…”

Nimue nodded. “I think Ambrosia wrote that.”

“It might be a clue of sorts.” Jim suggested. “Didn’t you said before that Ambrosia liked to scatter the puzzle pieces?”

“Maybe she liked weird poetry?” Said Toby.

“Or she was playing us.” Steve rolled his eyes.

Claire gasped. “She’s talking about opposites! Day and night are opposites to one another. Sun and moon as well. Darkness and light are definite opposites. She also talks about moving along. She also talks about…” She turned to merlin and Nimue. “You guys. My little lady? My darling son? Isn’t that how she referred to you guys?”

“Encoded message.” Arrrgghh provided.

Toby gasped. “Wingman! That’s it! It’s got to be!”

“It’s a message for you two.” Claire provided.

“I think it doubles as two messages.” Dictatious says. Everyone turned to look at him. “Oh please, I may be blind now, but my mind is as sharp as ever!” He said. “Like Lady Claire said, she talks about opposites. The sun and moon, darkness and light, Merlin and Nimue. You came here looking for information on the Genesis Staff, correct?”

They nodded.

“I believe she’s giving you the answer on why this legendary staff can bring down Mordred.”

“Explain.” Merlin said.

“It’s the simplest of answers! Opposites! If the Genesis Staff represents light, then—”

“—Then the Apocalyptic Vengeance represents darkness. It means that the staffs are as powerful as the users are vulnerable to each other! Opposites in darkness and in light can destroy each other…” Said Nimue.

“It means that the staffs represent the purest forms of dark and light in the magical spectrum. Nothing in between can damage them unless they damage each other.” Supplied Merlin. “Which is why mother was killed and why she could weaken Mordred when we couldn’t.”

“That much we can infer.” Said Nimue.

“How did you two get all that from a riddle!?” Toby asked.

Nimue and Merlin shrugged.

“I believe she’s also telling you where to find it.” Dictatious continued. “She says _within my old friend, what you seek will appear_. All I can think about is that whatever answer you’re looking for, this friend must have it. Probably has the Genesis Staff.”

Nimue frowned. “I don’t know. I can’t think of anyone. She wouldn’t leave such thing with just anyone, unless…”

Merlin and Nimue looked at each other and glared. “Charlie…” The growled.

“Wait, Charlie as in Charlemagne? Archie’s dad?” Jim asked.

Nimue nodded. “I should’ve have known she would leave the staff in Charlie’s care. She left each of us a piece of the puzzle. She gave Charlie the most important of them all.”

“Why would mother put him in charge of it?” Merlin said between teeth.

“Because he would have been the best choice. He’s a dragon, dragons keep treasure secure. Unlike some people losing the Genesis Seals and then blaming their apprentice for it…” Nimue glared at Merlin.

“Why didn’t he say anything?” Merlin asked.

“Because he has probably been laughing at your ignorance all these years.”

Merlin looked like he was about to explode. “CHARLIE, YOU _MOTHERFU_ —"

OOO

**Trollhunters Chat**

_(Zoe was added to the chat)_

**Jim** : _Typing…_

 **Jim** : We might know where the Genesis Staff is. We need another meeting.

 **Zoe** : _Typing…_

 **Zoe** : Cool, you guys had a chat and I wasn’t invited before? Great.

 **Jim** : Sorry… :(

 **Zoe** : It’s cool, kid. XD

 **Zoe** : _Typing…_

 **Zoe** : Where do we meet?

 **Jim** : _Typing…_

 **Jim** : Come down to Trollmarket. Most of us are here, anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Remember to review and let me know your favorite part of this chapter. XOXO


	26. Ready as I'll Ever Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparations for the upcoming battle have started, trolls and humans alike are preparing for this. Others seek answers in other places and Nimue might be hiding something. Ophelia shows true regret for her words against her daughter and plans to gain back her love and trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'll probably start posting like, once a week because I have a lot of stuff going on and I barely had time to write. Also, it's not healthy staring at your laptop's screen for too long. Still trying to nurse that headache. Otherwise, please enjoy this chapter!

Nimue took advantage of the free time they had while the others got to Trollmarket. She gave the excuse that she wanted to explore Trollmarket just a little bit on her own, which wasn’t really a lie, but there was something she had to do. Also, she didn’t want to deal with Merlin’s angry rant on why Charlie was an ass for not telling him about the Genesis Staff. ‘ _Must that man have to know everything?’_ She rolled her eyes.

So, as the wise and all-knowing sorceress, responsible adult that she was…

…she left that problem to the kids.

No, really. She wasn’t going to deal with that and the last thing Trollmarket needed was Merlin and Nimue trashing the place. Douxie had already gave them an ultimatum. She had to be better.

With these thoughts in her mind, Nimue walked to the Heroes Forge. The place had seen better days, she could say. There were rocks scattered around, broken weapons on the floor and mostly just a mess. It wasn’t like it was abandoned, per say. There were piles of rock neatly put together on the corner, so the trolls must have started to clean up this area recently. She made her way towards the Soothscryer. She stood in front of the relic and placed her right hand inside without hesitation. The Soothscryer glowed and angry red.

“I need to speak with you. It’s urgent.”

The Soothscryer glowed blue instead and suddenly, Nimue found herself in the Void Between Worlds. Ghosts of the past Trollhunters surrounded her.

“Who is this intruder?”

“What is she seeking?”

“State your business with us, halfling!”

Nimue kept her cool, she was in a sacred place. She owned them respect. “I am Nimue. The Lady of the Lake.”

The ghosts looked at each other in confusion. Suddenly, Kanjigar emerged and stood in front of Nimue. “No living being has come here to the Void Between Worlds other than one troll, which was an exception.”

The half-troll bowed her head in respect. “Trollhunter Kanjigar.”

“So, you know of me. Very well. What is your business?” He asked.

“I’m here regarding the future of one Jim Lake Jr. The last Trollhunter chosen by the Amulet of Daylight.”

There were murmurs among the ghosts. Kanjigar raised a hand and they stopped. “Regarding Jim. I see. What about his future? Forgive me, but as far as we know, he is done being the Trollhunter. The job itself does not exist anymore, even if he was the best among us.”

Nimue cleared her throat. “I believe he has a crucial part in the upcoming battle.”

“Mordred and the Arcane Order? Yes, we know.” Said Ungar the Unfortunate.

Kanjigar sighed. “That’s a very strong enemy you’re about to face. But milady, I do not see what you want from us. Without the Amulet, Jim would be done for in that battle.”

“What Kanjigar is trying to say is that Jim will end up like me.” Said Ungar. “Dead the first minute of the battle.”

“Not to say it like that, but—” Kanjigar was thrown a pack of playing cards to the face. He stared at the ghostly cards for a moment before frowning.

Nimue stared in shock. “Uhhh…?”

Kanjigar looked up with a glare. “Deya!”

Deya floated above them and chuckled. “You might be The Courageous, but you are dumb as fuck.”

Kanjigar pointed an accusing finger at her. “I had it with you, Deya! You may be above us all, but you are a pain in the gronknuts!”

“And you are a horrible poker player. I told Jim he didn’t want to be stuck here with you for all eternity playing cards. You are a sore loser.” She landed next to Nimue. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Uhhh…” Nimue stared in confusion.

Deya turned to Kanjigar. “Also, you all know Jim is… different. He bested us all in the job and he’s just a living noddle with noddle arms and noddle legs.” She turned back to Nimue. “Anything life throws at that boy; he can beat it.”

Nimue smiled. “I know. Which is why I need to ask you a favor, Deya. I will be sending him on a quest. Alone. But I believe you can help guide him. A familiar face that went through the same struggles of that boy.”

Deya grinned. “I might have an idea, Mrs. Lady of the Lake. I’m listening…”

OOO

Zoe hated having to wake Douxie and Morgana, but it had to be done. Especially Douxie; he wasn’t keen on someone waking him up. On the hand, they both looked better, almost like in less than twenty-four hours ago they hadn’t had a close encounter with death.

So, without any other distraction, she quickly explained what was happening and they headed down to Trollmarket. More like travel through shadow portals thanks to Morgana because she was being lazy.

Soon enough, they found themselves in Blinky’s library, where the trolls plus Merlin and the children were arguing.

“We’re here.” Zoe said.

“Great! We were about to start.” Jim greeted them. “How are you feeling guys?”

Morgana shrugged. “I’m fine, really. Just a bit of a headache, but nothing too serious.”

Douxie smiled. “I feel much better, more energized. Thanks for asking.”

“Where’s Nimue?” Archie asked as he jumped into Douxie’s shoulders.

Jim shrugged. “Said she wanted to get a look around Trollmarket. She should be back shortly.”

“Care to fill us in?” Douxie asked as he took a seat.

“Sure.” Said Jim. “Basically, to spare you details, Charlemagne might have the Genesis Staff in his care.”

Archie’s ears when up. “My father?”

“Yeah. Remember when Nimue told us that Ambrosia gave each of them a secret piece of the puzzle? Well, Charlie might have the most important piece. That’s the staff.”

“But… How?” Archie asked. “I lived my childhood with him, and he never gave signs that he was hiding something.”

“Maybe he had it elsewhere or just well hidden.” Jim shrugged. “Are you ok, Archie?”

Archie frowned. “I’m fine. Just… confused.”

“Understandable.” Jim nodded. “I would be confused too, if I was you.”

Suddenly, Nimue entered the library. She gave the group a quick nod before clapping her hands together. “Alright! We know where the Genesis Staff might be, so this is the battle plan—”

Merlin interrupted. “I already have a battle plan.”

“If it includes charging at the Arcane Order straight on before they release Mordred, that’s not going to work. So, sit down. I don’t want to hear it.” Nimue dismissed.

“But---”

“Blah, blah, blah, BLAH.” Nimue used her hand to imitate a puppet. “Did I stutter? No? Sit down.”

Merlin begrudgingly sat down next to Arrrgghh, who gave him a comforting pat on the back. The wizard simply crossed his arms like an angry little boy and looked away.

Nimue turned to the rest. “As I was saying. We don’t have time to charge at the Order. Especially because we don’t know where they are and when they will release Mordred and the shadow army. At this point, it’s only a matter of time before that happens…” She sighed. “So, we must prepare. _Everyone_ must prepare. Trolls, wizards, the humans in Arcadia, even the gnomes. Everyone.”

The group murmured among themselves for a moment before Nimue continued. “To make this easier, I will assign duties for all. Blinky! You are leader of Trollmarket. You must put that leadership to the test. Prepare the trolls for an upcoming battle. I met Nomura on the way here, enlist her help in preparing the trolls.”

Blinky nodded. “Consider it done.”

“Arrrgghh, get the Kruberas and enlist their help. They might live far away from the actual chaos, but this will affect them as well.”

Arrrgghh nodded, a determined look on his face.

“Zoe, enlist the hedge wizards help. They might mean the difference between victory and defeat.” Zoe nodded and Nimue continued. “Toby, Steve and Morgana. I need you to warn the citizens of Arcadia and prepare them for battle. Zoe and the hedge wizards will help you.”

They nodded.

“Jim, I want you to call Strickler and let him know we need the changeling’s assistance. Or at least, those willing to help.”

“On it.” Jim pulled out his phone and started testing.

“Also, tell your mother to warn the hospital. This is a war and unfortunately, there will always be injured…”

Jim nodded. “Way ahead of you.”

“Claire,” Said Nimue. “Are you still in contact with your mother?” She asked.

Claire looked down. “Not really. But if you need something from her, I can let my dad know and he can tell her.”

“Very well. I need her to organize the town. I know she is councilwoman and the people are more likely to listen to her. Toby, Steve and Morgana will help in that matter.”

Claire nodded and pulled her phone out to text her father.

Nimue turned to Merlin and Nari. “Merlin, Nari. I need you two to reinforce the wards around Arcadia.”

Merlin shook his head. “Nari’s magic wasn’t integrated into the ward before under the belief that the Order might use her magical signature to harm her, which we now know that was false. We will have to take it down to rebuild it again and we cannot afford that.”

Nimue nodded. “You’re right…” She mumbled. She took a moment to think before smiling. “Nari! Build a second ward over the first one, but this time, Merlin will help you. That should work for the moment. After that, you will join the other in helping the citizen get ready.”

Merlin and Nari nodded in agreement.

“What about me?” Douxie asked. “I can help with the second ward.”

“No.” Nimue shook her head. “You may feel better now, but I will not put that type of restrain to your magic. Besides, you and Archie will come with me. Also, because I don’t know where Charlemagne lives and its been very few times during the years that I’ve seen him.”

Nimue was about to dismiss them when she looked at Claire for a moment. The girl was texting her father, unaware that Nimue’s attention had fallen on her. Nimue frowned. Her magic always worked in mysterious ways that sometimes even she couldn’t comprehend. She just went with it and almost always she was right. Something told her to bring the girl with her.

“Claire.” She called. The girl looked up. “After you’re done, you’ll be coming with me as well.”

Claire had a look of surprise on her face and nodded. “Alright, I guess…”

Toby elbowed her. “Lucky. You get to meet a real dragon.”

Archie loudly cleared his throat and Toby gave him an embarrassed smile. “I meant a big one. Sorry.”

Nimue smiled. “Alright everyone! We don’t know when the Order will attack or when Mordred will be summoned, but we don’t have time to lose. We will all meet at nightfall at the town square. I mean everyone. If you know of anyone else that can help, let them know. Let’s go.”

Everyone stood up and went off their ways. Jim was about to follow Toby when Nimue stopped him. “Jim, wait.”

Jim turned to look at her. “Yeah?”

Nimue smiled at him. “There’s something I want you to do.”

Jim arched an eyebrow. “Oh, ok.” He had to admit he was a bit nervous. “What do you want me to do?”

“I need you to go to the Heroes Forge and talk to Deya. She will give you further instructions.”

“Just to be clear, you aren’t turning me into some sea monster, aren’t you?”

Nimue laughed. “No, no. I promise you it’s good. Now go.”

Jim nodded and called at Toby. “Hey, Tobes. I need to do something else first. I’ll catch up to you later.”

“Alright, Jimbo! Text me!” The boy called out and left.

Jim gave one last nod to Nimue before walking past her and left. Nimue sighed. “Alright, you three.” She turned to Archie, Douxie and Claire. “Let’s go.”

OOO

Javier looked up from his phone and walked into the kitchen. Ophelia was there, making a sandwich for herself. They had been back to living under the same roof, but they were still not on speaking terms. Javier loved Ophelia, really. He truly did. But there was time she drove him insane, like the situation with Claire.

But judging by Claire’s urgent message, they had to leave that behind them for now.

He sighed and cleared his throat, effectible calling Ophelia’s attention. “Javier? What is it?” She asked, if not a bit fearful of what he had to say.

Javier sighed. “It’s Claire.”

Ophelia gulped. “What’s wrong? She didn’t get hurt, did she?”

“No, no. But she needs us. You, more specifically.” Said Javier. “The end of the world is coming again.”

Ophelia facepalmed. “Oh, great.”

“This time by some ancient, dark wizard hellbent on killing us all. She said she’ll explain after she comes back from looking for something that can defeat him. The whole town must fight. Those who can’t, should take cover in Trollmarket. This is serious, Ophelia.”

Ophelia looked down. “What does she need?”

“She needs her mother to put her big girl pants and organize the town. She is sending Steve, Toby and…” He sighed. “And Morgana, to help prepare everyone for the upcoming battle.”

Ophelia sighed. “That witch? Really?”

Javier groaned. “Ophelia, look. Claire is not asking you to change your views, this is not the time for that. What she is asking is that her mother helps her survive this. This is a war.”

Ophelia sobbed. “Why does she need my help? I treated her poorly and I’m a terrible mother!”

“No, no.” Javier hugged. “You are not a terrible mother, Ophelia. You just made a mistake. A mistake that only you can fix. Our daughter needs us, she needs you.”

Ophelia pulled away and dried her tears. “Very well, _mi amor_.” She pulled her phone and called the mayor. “Mayor? The world is ending again, we need to gather every citizen at Town Square.” She smiled at Javier, who smiled back.

“I’ll be calling Detective Scott to mobilize the police.” Said Ophelia as she hung up and searched her contacts. “

OOO

Merlin and Nari stood on top of City Hall, overlooking Arcadia. Nari looked up at Merlin. “Are you alright, Merlin?”

“Oh, yes, I’m fine.”

“Your soul is not at rest. I’ve felt it since Nimue’s arrival.”

Merlin sighed. “You’re right, I’m not.”

Nari gave him a reassuring look. “It will all be alright.”

Merlin shook his head. “No, Nari. You don’t get it. Mordred…” He sobbed, finally letting his walls crumble around him. “He’s a monster.”

Nari touched his arm.

Merlin let himself break. There was no one else but Nari to see him. He sat down and pulled his legs up to his chest and cried. “He killed my mother in cold blood, he took her away from me way too soon…” His body shook after a particularly violent sob. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss her.”

Nari rested her head against his shoulder plate. “It is alright to grieve a loved one, Merlin. It’s normal. It’s healthy. You should allow it. Don’t blame yourself.”

Merlin sobbed. “I know this is way out of character for me, but I’m scared… I know I shouldn’t be, but…” He dried his tears. “It’s not just for myself. I had a vision… where all of you died because of him. Morgana, Hisirdoux, you… I couldn’t live with myself if that happened. I couldn’t take it… not again…”

Nari smiled at him. “Visions are just possible versions of a future, Merlin. Not exactly what would be, but what could be. They’re just possibilities between infinite ones.”

Merlin gave a light chuckle. “You know, that’s exactly what my mother used to tell me.”

“Then she was a wise woman, alright.” Nari laughed.

Merlin chuckled again. He was Merlin Ambrosius, for Avalon’s sake! He shouldn’t be breaking down like this and cry like a lost little boy of all things. Thank goodness it was only Nari who got to see him, at least she understood. He had a reputation to maintain after all.

Nari patted him on the shoulder and stood up.

Merlin nodded at Nari, who nodded back. The wizard stood up. “What are we doing here? Having a pity fest? Let’s get this ward done, shall we?”

“Whatever you say, master wizard.” Said Nari with a smile. She held up her hand and summoned her staff. “It’s been a while since I used this.”

“Then prepare yourself, because you’ll use it often now.” Merlin turned to her. “And Nari?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

Nari smiled. “Ambrosia would be proud of you, Merlin. I have a feeling she always was.”

Merlin smiled. “I hope so, because I have done some things in the last centuries that she would pull my ear because of it.” He laughed.

Both raised their staffs into the air and shoot their magic towards the skies.

OOO

Ophelia sighed as she took the microphone and directed herself to the citizens of Arcadia. “Thank you for coming. I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

“Is the world ending again!?” Mary shouted from the crowd.

Ophelia stared. “Uhhh… yes.”

The citizens just groaned. Ophelia arched an eyebrow. She was truly expecting the whole town to go into panic mode. “You seem to be taking this rather… well?”

Darci rolled her eyes. “The world ends like… every other weekend. Might as well just accept it.”

Krel, who had been hanging out with Mary and Darci at the time of the summoning, groaned. “Alright, who do we have to kill this time?”

“Krel!” Mary elbowed him.

“What? It’s always some power-hungry evil deity!”

Ophelia stared. “Um…” She turned to Steve, Toby and Morgana. Morgana sighed and took the microphone.

Morgana gulped. “Hello, um… my name is Morgana. Former villain, tried to bring the Eternal Night the first time?”

The citizens nodded and some shrugged.

“Aren’t you the nice, pretty lady from the bookstore?” Someone shouted from the crowd

“Why, yes!” Morgana smiled.

“Would you go out with me!?” The person shouted.

Morgana frowned. She sighed. “If you are the ice cream parlor employee, the answer is no.” She groaned. A disappointed sigh could be heard from the crowd. She handed the microphone to Toby. “You do it. I’m too pretty and I’ll just distract them.” She crossed her arms and frowned.

Toby gulped. “Geez… Uh… Hi! Toby here! In summary, an ancient wizard is coming back to kill us all and he’s bringing an army with him. So, we gotta fight it.”

“Sounds about right.” Coach Lawrence said. Mrs. Janet shrugged beside him. Another woman, a five foot and two inches tall, stood by Coach’s side. She had golden hair in a pretty pixie cut and red glasses that made her blue eyes stand out. Vivian Palchuk, Steve’s mom.

Señor Url groaned. “Just let him kill us! I can’t take this anymore!” He cried on Coach Lawrence’s shoulder.

Steve took the microphone. “Nuh, Huh! You are going to fight, buttsnacks! The trolls are fighting, the resident wizards are fighting, we are fighting. We can’t let this buttsnack kill us all!”

Murmurs of agreement spread among the citizens.

“You go, baby!” Vivian yelled.

Steve blushed. “Hi, mom…” he mumbled and facepalmed to hide his blush.

Toby took the microphone back. “We don’t know when he’s coming, but he’s coming soon, and we have to be prepared. Baseball bats, flame throwers, guitars, anything that can be used as a weapon!”

Mario Muelas raised his dental tools. “I got a dental drill!!!”

“I got a monster truck!”

“I got a gun!”

“I have my mother in law!”

“I got hedge wizards!” Zoe screamed with the other wizards raising their wands.

Laura and Woody arrived and stood beside Zoe. “You got a werewolf and a fire fae at your service!” Woody yelled and Laura, in direwolf form, howled in agreement. Merlin and Nari finally arrived and gave courtly nod to the wizards.

Ophelia nodded with a smile as the citizens shouted what they could bring to help. She took the microphone from Toby. “Alright! We will start gathering munitions and prepare! Those that cannot fight, will take refuge down in Trollmarket as the trolls arrive here!”

OOO

Blinky stood in front of the Heartstone with his staff as the trolls, plus the Krubera and changelings, gathered at the center of the market. Nomura, Dictatious and Arrrgghh were by his side. He cleared his throat and called out.

“My brothers and sisters! We have gathered here due to a dire need. An ancient evil is coming and seeks to bring chaos upon this world. We must unite with all the species here in Arcadia to form an army that will stand a chance against this evil.”

There was silence. Blinky… blinked. “Any questions?”

Bagdwella raised her hand.

“Bagdwella! What is it?”

“Is the battle taking place in the surface?”

“Yes, I believe so.” Blinky nodded.

“Then I’m not going.”

Suddenly, an eruption of trolls testifying their objections and excuses to not fight engulfed Trollmarket. Some were terrified screams. Blinky bit his lip. “Well, this is not how it was supposed to go…”

“ ** _Silence!!!_** ”

There was another round of silence.

Blinky looked at his side and Dictatious cleared his throat. “You need to work on your leadership skills, brother.” He said.

Blinky gave him an awkward smile. “Thank you, Dictatious.”

The troll turned back to the crowd. “Listen! I know it is a scary time indeed, but victory might depend on our numbers! It could be the end of the world, for real this time!”

Murmurs spread among the crowd. Blinky sighed. “If we fight, there might be some of us that won’t make it, but it can raise the stakes to our favor. If we don’t fight, we will die.” He looked around. “This is an enemy that even Merlin and the Lady of the Lake are terrified to face. Our chances may be slim, but our strength is in our numbers. This is not just the humans above that run a grave danger, it is the whole world! Trolls, humans, wizards!”

A troll raised his hand and spoke up. “Why can’t the wizards just vanish him?”

Blinky sighed. “This evil wizard, Mordred is his name, holds power over the purest of dark magics. He has an army of shadows in the thousands. He holds powers out of our imaginations. Merlin and Nimue have faced him before and barely made it out alive. He had been weakened by his equal in power Ambrosia of Avalon.”

More murmurs ran among the crowd.

“Yes, I know. The most powerful witch of legends. Previously, I had thought she was just a myth. A sorceress of such power could not exist. Yet, she was real. You can only imagine the amount of power this evil wizard has.”

“We can’t defeat someone like that! We’re just trolls!” Someone called out.

“We can’t fight a shadow army!” Another called out.

“Please, don’t panic. Please, don’t panic!” A troll said.

Silence.

Panic screaming. Trolls threw up their hands in the air and suddenly, there was chaos.

Blinky’s eyes twitched. He had enough of this. If this is what Vendel had to deal with when he was Elder of Trollmarket, he saw Vendel in a new light and developed a whole new level of respect for him.

“ ** _QUIET, YOU COWARDLY PUSSIES!!!_** ”

Again, silence. Trolls looked at Blinky in shock. One of the most known, peaceful trolls, just reacted in a way only Vendel had reacted before. Blinky glared at them. That seemed to do the trick.

Dictatious and Arrrgghh chuckled while Nomura whistled in surprise. “Oh, he snapped…hehehe…” She laughed.

Blinky pointed an accusing finger at the crowd. “You are not just any trolls. You are THE trolls. The trolls that fought by Deya’s side at Killahead bridge. The trolls that crossed an entire ocean to the new world! The trolls that saw the rise and fall of Gunmar and survived! The trolls that that have seen the first human Trollhunter and were saved! You are not just any trolls; you have faced challenges that no other generation of trolls have had to face! You survived Gunmar, a puny overpowered wizard is nothing!” Blinky spoke with sincerity but firm. He oversaw Trollmarket. He wasn’t going to let his people die, even if he had to resort to insults.

The trolls cheered and battle cries were heard. Trolls high-fived each other and raised weapons into the air. Blinky sighed. “I’m turning like Vendel…” He mumbled.

Dictatious patted him on the arm. “Don’t worry, brother. You’re not Vendel. You’re crazier.”

“No one asked you, Dictatious…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments below and how do you like the turns this story is taking. Also, yeah, I'm introducing Steve's mom, Vivian, because I have too many feels about Coach being Steve's new dad and I want to explore how Vivian would react to Nimue also being her ancestor and Nimue being welcomes into the family. And yes, I named her Vivian because Nimue is also known as Vivian in some legends and I wanted to keep the whole "lady of the lake" theme in the Palchuk family too.  
> As for Jim and Claire, I have BIG, HUGE, COLOSSAL plans for these two and you would see it in the next two chapters, which are already written and ongoing some small changes and under review. Have a great week!


	27. The Genesis Staff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Douxie, Archie, Nimue and Claire go to Charlemagne's home to question him about the Genesis Staff. They may find a few surprising revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, boy! It's been an awful week for me. Too much stress, more than I could handle, so I didn't really write any chapters this week. Luckily for you guys, this one was already written! This chapter is essential to the future battle, so read carefully! This chapter is wrapping up a lot of loose ends!!!

“ _I've never felt so certain  
All my life, I've been torn  
But I'm here for a reason  
Could it be the reason I was born?  
I have always been so different  
Normal rules did not apply  
Is this the day?  
Are you the way  
I finally find out why?_”

-Show Yourself, Frozen 2

OOO

One shadow portal later, and Claire, Nimue, Douxie and Archie stepped next to a hole in the ground. Nimue tilted her head a bit as they all glanced inside. “Didn’t take good ole Charlie to live underground. I always thought he had a cave high up in Mount Everest.”

Archie shrugged. “With a changing world like the one we live in; I think father made the right call in staying underground. Let’s go.” Archie jumped in; the rest followed suit.

Nimue used her magic to levitate Douxie and Claire safely onto the ground below. Archie landed on Douxie’s shoulders. Claire looked around. It was a dragon’s lair alright, with the dampness of the cave and everything.

“Father? It’s me, Archie! I brought some company!” Archie called out.

Large footsteps started to come closer and closer. Claire looked up and gasped. A large white wyvern dragon stood above her with a glare. Archie flew in front of him. “Hello, father.”

The intimidating dragon seemed to switch a button and gave Archie the most excited and lovingly smile a father could muster. “Archie? My little shapeshifting dragon!” Charlie grabbed Archie with his huge paws and hugged him tightly. Archie gasped. “It’s good to see you, dad.”

“Hello, Charlemagne.” Douxie greeted, but he was swiped off his feet and pulled into the dragon hug. The boy gasped for air.

“Douxie! It’s good to see my son’s wizard familiar!” Charlie looked down and gasped. He let go of both Douxie and Archie, who were gasping for air. “Nimue? Is that you?” Carlie asked.

Nimue gave him a soft smile. “Hello, Charlie, my old friend—UFFF!!!” Nimue was pulled into an even tighter hug.

“Nimue! It’s been so long!!! Where have you been!?” Charlie sobbed as he hugged Nimue even tighter.

The half-troll’s eyes widened and gasped for air. “Charlie, I can’t breathe!!!”

“My apologizes.” Charlie gently let her down. “I got a bit too overexcited to see my old friend.” He smiled. “Tell me, what have you been up to?”

Nimue took a moment to compose herself. “Oh, you know. Travelling and such. Taking it easy on life. Planning Merlin’s downfall, the usual…”

Charlie arched an eyebrow at the mention of Merlin’s downfall but said nothing. “Well, I’m glad you’ve been up and about!” He turned his attention to Claire. “Who is this lovely girl?”

Claire blushed at the compliment and smiled. “Hi. I’m Claire Nuñez. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“The honor is all mine. Are you a friend of Archie’s?”

Claire nodded. “You could say that. Yes.”

“Well!” Charlie smiled. “Why don’t you all come in!? I was just making tea!”

The group followed the jolly dragon into another cave, which was warmer and brighter with the fireplace ignited. Claire stared around. The place looked cozy for a dragon. Toby would have loved it here.

“I’m afraid your visit isn’t just a friendly one, is it?” Charlie asked as he served four giant cups of tea and placed them in front of each of them.

Nimue sighed. “I’m afraid not, my dear friend.”

Archie cleared his throat. “What do you know about the Genesis Staff?”

Charlie dropped a spoon. The dragon looked back at them. “What do you know about it?”

“Some. Merlin and Nimue told us their story and about Ambrosia. Of course, that was after Morgana and I survived murder attempts by the Arcane Order and Mordred.” Said Douxie.

Charlie choked on his tea. He started coughing. “Mordred? Did you say Mordred!?”

Nimue nodded. “He’s coming back.”

“How?” Charlie asked, desperation clear on his voice. “He was banished to the Genesis Seals! No one can open them—”

“Unless they have the correct magical configuration, anyone can open them.” Nimue finished.

Charlie sat down and scratched his head. “Ambrosia… that’s the secret she trusted you to keep?”

Nimue nodded. “And now we need you tell us yours. The Genesis Staff is the one thing that can defeat Mordred. I know you have it.”

Charlie sighed. “Not exactly, per say.” He stood and motioned them to follow him.

The group stood and followed the white dragon further into the caves system. He was silent on the way and no one dared to ask more questions. Except Archie.

“Father, these are the caves that you forbid me to go as a youngling!” Said the black dragon as he flew around.

“Yes, Archie. For good reason.”

“But why didn’t you tell me anything?”

Charlie sighed. “I was under strict instructions to not tell a soul, not even my own son. Not even to your mother. This knowledge could have put you in grave danger from those seeking its power.”

They had arrived at a sector of the caves system where it was damp, moisty, and abandoned. It was a big cave, with very little natural light. Charlie took a deep breath and breathed his fire into the room. Thousands of worn candles took life and brightened the cave, revealing a pair of stone doors with various carved symbols. The dragon directed them to the large pair of doors.

“Ambrosia didn’t exactly give me her staff. She used a spell to direct it here in the case of her demise. She only tasked me to keep guard of these doors, which is why I almost never left the caves. The Genesis Staff lays inside.”

Douxie smiled. “Perfect, let’s get it!”

“Not so fast, young master wizard.” Said Charlie. “Look at the door. What do you see?”

Douxie looked up. The carvings of the door were representations of the sun and the moons, water and fire, darkness and light. “I see… ancient carvings? Do they tell a story?”

“It requires a key to open the doors.” Said Claire, her gaze fixed on the keyhole between the doors.

Nimue groaned. “Great! Where do we find the key? Charlie, please tell me you have it.”

Charlie shook his head. “Nope. Ambrosia never gave me a key. She only wrote in her letter to keep guard of the door. She only ever mentions that the key lies with her chosen heir.”

Nimue’s eye twitched. “Chosen heir!? She’s been dead for over three thousand years! How would she select an heir!?” She turned to Charlie. “Is there something you’re not telling us!?”

Charlie frowned and growled. “Are you challenging me, Nimue!?”

“Maybe I am!”

Douxie and Archie got in between. “Maybe we can find this heir!” Douxie tried to push Nimue back.

“Maybe the heir is nearby! We might have missed a clue or something!” Archie said as he tried to push back his father.

While this all happened, Claire stared intensely at the door. More precisely, at the keyhole and remembered that night weeks ago, when Ambrosia’s shadow spirit visited her.

( _Flashback, Chapter 19_ )

_The shadow extended her hand and materialized a key. Claire stared at it, it was like one of those old-fashioned keys, but it wasn’t made of metal. “Is that thing made of… diamond?”_

_The shadow chuckled. “ **Yes, it is made of diamond in its purest form. Excellent to channel raw magic**.”_

_Claire narrowed her eyes. “It’s a magical key made of a precious stone. I suppose it opens a chest with something important?”_

_“ **Clever girl, I believe I made the right choice. Yes, it opens something, but not a chest. A door**.”_

( _End Flashback_ )

She took out the diamond key from her pocket and looked at the words engraved on it. They were the same words engraved above the keyhole.

“ _Genesis_ …” She whispered to herself and smiled. “Ambrosia, you certainly have a flair for the dramatics.” She took tentative steps towards the door and caressed the engraved word with her hand.

_Claire… Claire…_ She could hear Ambrosia’s voice call to her.

Claire took a deep breath and slowly placed the diamond key on the keyhole. The effect was almost immediate. The keyhole and the key glowed a bright purple and the doors opened outward. The teenager took tentative steps inside the newly opened room, without noticing the others trying to stop her. Once the girl had walked inside, the doors shut firmly, not allowing entrance to the others.

Douxie punched the doors. “Claire! Can you hear me!?”

“Oh, dear!” Archie landed on Douxie’s shoulders. “Do you think she’s alright?”

Nimue stepped next to them and inspected the diamond key, now purple, still in the keyhole. “Of course, Claire is the heir!” She scratched her head. “But… how did she get this key?” She asked incredulously.

Charlie stepped closer and inspected it. “I am not sure. We will have to ask her when she comes back.”

Douxie turned to Charlie and sighed. “I guess all we have to do is wait.”

OOO

Meanwhile, Claire had her back pressed against the door and looked around. It was dark and cold. She took a moment to gather her composure and cleared her throat. “Hello?”

_Claire…_

She heard Ambrosia’s voice again. “Ambrosia?” She called out. “I can’t see.”

On cue, the staircase before her lit up with precious stones. Claire gasped; the staircase was made of giant diamonds! “This is so similar to the one back in Trollmarket.” She started to descent the stairs with a shocked look on her face. As she descended, she noticed that every time she stepped on a stair, it turned from white, to purple.

“Toby would have a field day if he ever saw this.” She quickly took out her phone and tried to take a picture, but her phone started glitching and died. She arched an eyebrow. “Must be the crazy amount of magic this place has.” She put her phone back in her pocket.

It took her five more minutes to finally reach the bottom of the stairs and found herself facing another door. Claire stood in front of it. This one was a smaller door, but it had no carvings and no keyhole. The girl frowned. How was she supposed to get past it?

_Claire…_

Claire gasped. The voice was closer. She attempted to push the door and to her surprise, it worked. She walked inside and gasped. It was another cave, but this one was like the one where they found Merlin’s staff. There was a small bridge over a stream of water. If Claire looked closely, there were little colorful fishes of all kinds swimming by and there was grass and countless of flower types everywhere. There were small birds and butterflies flying above her. The walls were all glowing white stones that emitted light and at the center, floating in the middle of what appeared to be a small shrine…

…was the Genesis Staff.

Claire gasped and cautiously walked the small bridge between her and the small shrine. Claire finally stood in front of the legendary staff. The shrine was made of a small tree that kind of reminded Claire of Nari. The girl took a moment to appreciate the staff. Its shiny purple metal reflected her face and the white gem on top of it burned bright.

“So beautiful…” She whispered.

“It is, isn’t it?”

Claire gasped and turned around to find Ambrosia of Avalon standing there with her hands behind her back and a soft smile on her face.

“You! But--- you’re dead! And the--- The key! And--- and---”

Ambrosia laughed. “Calm down, my child. I am very much dead. I am merely a ghost that can only take full form in this place. Hence, why I appeared before you as a shadow instead.”

Claire took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. “What is this place anyway?”

Ambrosia smiled. “You’re in Eden. Well, not the original one, per say. This is more of a small-scale version. It is where The Genesis Staff resides when its wilder has passed on.”

Claire nodded. “I see…” She gave another look around the garden. “It’s beautiful.”

“Very.” Ambrosia answered. “How are Merlin and Nimue, by the way?”

Claire was a bit taken aback by the sudden change of topic but shrugged. “They are fine, I guess. Still bad blood between them. Nimue tried to kill Merlin and they had a big fight that had to be broken up. They have some sort of truce, I think. Now, they’re just acting petty around each other.”

Ambrosia rolled her eyes. “Ugh! I gave those two specific instructions to stay together and rely on each other. I guess I overlooked their egos and Merlin’s reckless decision making.” She facepalmed. “They have a long way to go.”

“Yeah, I think.” Claire sighed. “They told us what happened to you. I’m sorry.”

Ambrosia looked down. “It had to happen. It was either me or the children.”

“You must’ve loved them very much.”

“That I did.” Ambrosia extended her hand and a bird landed on it. She stroked its beautiful blue feathers.

“Though, I have a question.”

“Speak, child.”

“Why am I here, Ambrosia?”

Ambrosia smiled at her. “Do you know what entails that I gave you that key?”

Claire slowly nodded. “It opened the door to retrieve your staff.”

“And?”

Claire gulped. “It means… it means I’m your heir.”

Ambrosia nodded with a smile and let the bird fly up.

“But, why me? And why wait three thousand years? Surely you could have chosen another heir in that time!”

Ambrosia kept her smile. “The Genesis Staff is a relic of great power, handed down from wielder to wielder since the beginning of time. Tell me, do you know what the word _Genesis_ means?”

“It means beginning, the start of something new.”

“Correct. With me, it ends a cycle. With you, it starts a new one. The staff’s power cannot be entrusted to just anybody, which is one of the reasons I cannot leave this earth and rest in peace. It’s too great of a responsibility and everything it entitles. I’ve watched possible heirs during the centuries, discarding them as choices.” Said the ghost as she let a butterfly rest on her hands. “Then I saw this girl. Brave, talented, exceptional. Devoted to her loved ones and held a kindness to others that lived below her ground.” She glanced at Claire.

Claire felt her legs tremble in anticipation.

“I decided to keep watch of her. Learn her behavior, what was she like. This girl already had all the qualities needed to be the next wielder of the Genesis Staff. But, did she had enough power to stand it? To my surprise, when this girl wielded another wizard’s staff and eventually activated the necessary magic, I knew it had to be you and you alone.”

Claire placed a hand over her heart to try and stop its rapid beating. “Necessary magic?”

“Shadow Magic.”

Claire decided to sit down. She was sure that she was about to fall anyway. “Why shadow magic? Isn’t shadow magic dark magic?”

“Magic is only dark when you use it for darkness. The only true dark magic in this world is fear and anger and hatred, which is why Mordred is able to wield the Apocalyptic Vengeance.” Said Ambrosia as she walked and sat beside Claire. “Merlin never understood that.”

“Is there a specific reason why it has to be shadow magic?”

Ambrosia smiled. “Technically, it could be any kind of magic. But Shadow Magic allows you to create things never thought possible. It synchronizes well with the staff. It lets you explore boundaries and you have no obstacles. It is the beginning of new possibilities.”

Claire nodded. “I see what you mean. But Morgana uses Shadow Magic too? Why not her?”

“Your friend is an exceptional magic user. Merlin trained her well. And while she may have the magic and her will is strong, she has walked dark paths too many times and is too prone to retreat to herself. She was one of the choices I had over the centuries.” Ambrosia patted Claire’s head. “She has another path set before her, one that she has already started to walk.”

“And that path is…?”

“Healing. Acceptance. Searching for who she is in the new world she finds herself in.” Said the ghost. “All the more reason to choose you. You know your place in this world and know how to start anew. You gave Morgana a chance to redeem herself because you felt that she needed to start anew. You felt she needed her own genesis.”

“Her own, new beginning.”

“Now, you’re getting it.” The ghost smiled. “You are a good person, Claire. I cannot think of anyone more worthy than you for this honor. James Lake Jr. is a lucky man.”

Claire blushed at the mention of Jim. “I’m lucky to have him too.” Said she. “But there’s another thing I don’t understand. When I was helping Morgana escape from the Dreamwalker, I used a crazy amount of power. I didn’t know what I was doing, it was like muscle memory. I’ve never even done that before!”

“Simple. By granting you the key to Eden, the Genesis Staff identified you as the heir. It felt that you were in trouble and lend it’s magic to you so you and Morgana could escape.”

“Is that why my eyes were white back then?”

“Yes. It a sign of the staff’s magic flowing through you.”

“Good, because I was a bit freaked out by that.” Claire gave a sigh of relief. “But… I’m not even a master wizard. There’s much I still don’t know. I shouldn’t have a staff.”

“Oh, that’s rubbish. You may have a lot to learn ahead, but you know enough to wield the staff. Besides, when this is all over, you can dedicate more time to your studies. You have an exceptional teacher in Hisirdoux Casperan.” Ambrosia stood up and extended a hand to Claire. “Let go of the fear, Claire. You are meant for extraordinary things.”

Claire looked at Ambrosia’s hand for a moment before taking it and stood. “I’m ready.”

The staff glowed in response. Ambrosia smiled. “It sensed your determination.”

Claire smiled, but quickly development an uneasy expression on her face. “Ambrosia, you said you had another reason for not moving on to a better place. What is that reason?”

Ambrosia looked at the staff and sighed. “I have not moved on to a better place, for my last unfinished business is seeing Mordred defeated once and for all.” She turned to look at Claire. “And to hug my son and my apprentice one more time.”

Claire felt two tears roll down her cheeks.

“Don’t cry for me, my child. I know all my unfinished business will be done someday.” Said the ghost. “Now, it’s time for you to fulfill your destiny.” She motioned a hand towards the staff.

Claire took a deep breath and exhaled. She turned to fully face the staff. The white gem glowed bright as it sensed her hand drawing near. As soon as her hand grabbed the staff, an explosion of magic spread throughout the garden.

OOO

Nimue and Douxie were sitting on the stone floor facing each other. They glared.

Nimue arched an eyebrow. “You got any… fives?”

Douxie looked down at his cards and shook his head. “Nope. Go Fish.”

Nimue groaned and picked another card from the pack. “I hate this game…”

“Charlie, you got any sevens?” Douxie asked.

Charlie looked down at the tiny card in his claws. “Damn you.” He handed Douxie the seven.

Douxie placed all his matching cards down. “I win.” He said with a smirk.

The two dragons and the half-troll groaned and threw down their cards. “I swear, you’re cheating somehow.” Groaned Nimue.

“Nope! Just have almost two centuries of practice since John Jaques Jr invented the game in 1851.” Douxie gloated. “I’m just better at it than anyone currently alive.”

“That’s it. I don’t want to play anymore.” Nimue complained.

“Are you sure you don’t want to play 10 out of 15?” Douxie asked.

“NO!” The three of them snapped back.

“You’re just sore losers.”

Their attention was brought back to the stone doors when they suddenly opened. They stood and waited. To their surprise, Claire emerged with eyes glowing white and the Genesis Staff in her right hand. She took a few steps forward and the doors closed behind her, the diamond key locked the doors and flew into Claire’s pocket. The girl blinked and her eyes went back to normal.

“Claire!” Douxie ran to her and shook her shoulders. “Are you alright!? You’re not hurt!? Jim would kill me if something happened to you under my watch!”

Claire smiled. “I’m fine, Douxie.” He looked at the Genesis Staff. “I’m actually more than fine!”

Charlie gasped. “By heavens…” He breathed. “I haven’t seen that old thing in a while.”

Nimue stared. “Claire, how did you get that key?”

Claire gave her a nervous smile. “Would you believe me if I said that Ambrosia’s shadow gave it to me one night? She told me not to say anything until the time was right. For the record, I didn’t know what it was for until now.”

Nimue sighed. “That sounds like her, alright.”

“Mordrax’s miracles…” Douxie whispered as he poked the Genesis Staff. “You really are Ambrosia’s heir.”

Archie jumped on Douxie’s shoulders and inspected the staff. “You realize this can tip the odds to our favor, right?”

Douxie gasped. “We have to get back to Arcadia. Claire needs to learn how to make the staff her own before the fight.”

Claire nodded. “Right. We have to prepare.”

“It should be around twilight in Arcadia, I won’t be burned by the sun.”

“I’ll be going with you.” Said Charlie.

“Father?”

“This is Mordred we are talking about, Archie. You will need all the help you can get.” Said Charlie. He extended his wings to its full spam. “Now, all aboard!”

The group climbed Charlie fur and sat on his back. Nimue at the front, Claire in the middle and Douxie on the back. Archie would fly beside his father.

“I’ll open a shadow portal to get to Arcadia faster.” Said Claire as she pointed the Genesis Staff in front of them and opened a big portal.

“Excellent idea, your majesty!” Charlie said as he took, he prepared to jump.

“Your majesty?”

Charlie turned his head to look at Claire. “Whoever wields the Genesis Staff becomes the ruler of the Shadow Realm. Or had you forgotten that tiny little detail?”

Claire paled. “Um… um…. Um…”

Douxie chuckled. “Charlie, I think you broke her.”

“Oh dear.” Nimue whispered.

Charlie laughed. “More details later. Let’s fly!” The large white dragon jumped into the portal, followed by Archie. The portal closed behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (For the record, I really don't know how to play Go Fish, I just went along with it XD) Thank you guys for reading! I truly appreciate your comments, they're the highlight of my week. Let me known if you were expecting this plot twist or not!!! Hurray for Queen Claire!!! Love you guys!!!!


	28. Becoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim unlocks the destiny he was always meant to achieve. Claire arrives back to Arcadia with a big surprise. Toby has a destiny awaiting for him.
> 
> And Douxie, Zoe and Archie get armor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a week! I had too much work accumulated and too many migraines from looking at my computer. But, meh, I'll graduate soon. Anyways, sorry about the delay, but things have been crazy as of lately. (Also, I've been swallowed by the Animaniacs fandom, but that's beside the point)  
> This chapter was already written and today I had a bit of free time to properly finish it, so I'll publish it now, but next chapters are barely drafts, so those will probably take longer to write. Remember, work and studies go first!

Jim walked towards the Heroes Forge. To be honest, he had no idea what Nimue was planning or what she wanted from him. Why talk to Deya? He thought. Maybe there was an information Deya had that would help him. Just before the boy reached the Soothcryer, Deya’s ghost suddenly appeared before him, startling the young Trollhunter.

“AAAAHHHHH!!!”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you, but I was getting impatient.”

Jim sighed. “Geez, just… don’t scare a man like that next time.”

Deya laughed. “You? A man? You’re just a noodle.”

Jim glared. “Har, har.”

Deya grinned. “Well, now that you are here, let’s go.” She floated past him.

Jim followed her out of the Hero’s Forge. “Where are we going?”

“I’ll tell you when we get there.” Deya grinned.

Jim rolled his eyes and followed the ghost. They walked past the stores in the market, but no one was there. Jim looked around. “Where is everybody?”

Deya shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I’ve been stuck playing cards with Kanjigar. That sore loser…”

As they started ascending the stairs, Jim took a look back the Heartstone. “Oh, there they are! They’re having a meeting.”

Deya floated next to him. “Seems like the leader is having a hard time controlling the panicked trolls.” She shrugged. “We should go.”

Both Deya and Jim resumed ascending the stairs until they heard a yell from Blinky.

 ** _“QUIET, YOU COWARDLY PUSSIES!!!”_** The sentence rang its echoes across the Trollmarket.

Jim looked back for a moment in shock. The crowd was silenced immediately. Deya chuckled. “Isn’t that your father figure?”

Jim winced. “Yeah… I knew he was about to crack under all the pressure, but not that soon.”

Deya shook her head. “Too bad for him. It’s the job of a leader. We all crack at some point.” She nudged the boy on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Deya took him outside of Trollmarket and into the canal, where the sun was just starting to set. Jim put on his helmet, started his Vespa, and drove away beside Deya. They went up the canal, into the driveway on the bridge. Jim simply drove his vehicle in silence, glancing at Deya every so often. It wasn’t until they were passing by the Town Center that Jim stopped for a moment. At the front of the crowd, he saw Toby, Steve, Morgana and Ophelia briefing everyone on the matters at hand and preparing them for the upcoming battle.

Jim smiled. “They seem to be doing a fine job.” He took off after Deya.

He rode for another ten minutes and finally reached the outskirts of the woods, where he couldn’t take his vespa. He arched an eyebrow and turned to Deya. “Why are we here?”

Deya smiled. “You’ll see. Come on!” She took off into the woods.

Jim parked his vespa, threw his helmet onto the ground and ran off after the ghost. “Deya, wait!” He called out, but the ghost just laughed and kept going. The young man finally catches up to her, only because she had stopped. Jim took a moment to control his breathing before looking up.

They were at Camelot’s ruins.

Jim frowned. “So… now can you tell me why we are here?”

Deya turned to Jim and smiled. “Nimue came to visit me the other day.”

“I thought only Trollhunters could go into the Void Between Worlds.” He mused.

“Except if its Nimue, apparently. She is quite mysterious. But she seemed interesting enough, so we let her in and see what she had to say.”

“And what did she say?”

Deya smiled.

_(Flashback)_

_Nimue smiled. “I know. Which is why I need to ask you a favor, Deya. I will be sending him on a quest. Alone. But I believe you can help guide him. A familiar face that went through the same struggles of that boy.”_

_Deya grinned. “I might have an idea, Mrs. Lady of the Lake. I’m listening…”_

_“When I first saw that boy, I saw a kind soul. Something special about him. He has a humbleness like no other. Always having the best interest of others, but not his own. I never thought he would give me a life lesson and I am thousands of years his senior.” Nimue laughed._

_“That’s Jim, for you. Always picking you up and pushing you forward. I wouldn’t have become the Trollhunter and answered my call of destiny f it wasn’t for him.”_

_Nimue nodded. “I know. Which is why I need you to do me this favor. No one else knows the struggles of being a Trollhunter—”_

_“EHEM!”_

_“We were trollhunters too!”_

_Nimue turned to the rest of the trollhunter ghost that glared at her. She glared back. “Oh, you know what I mean! Another trollhunter that can connect with him on a personal level. Can any of you do that!?”_

_The ghosts mumbled some “not really…” and “not much for personal matters…”. They silenced themselves and Nimue turned back to Deya._

_“…as I was saying. That boy is destined for great things and I want you to guide him. You are the only one that will understand his opposition to this new destiny.”_

_“Which is…?”_

_Nimue smiled. “He’s the Once and Future King.”_

_The trollhunters gasped and murmured among themselves. Deya tapped her chin. “Oh, I don’t know. He told me he tried to pull out that sword once and it didn’t work.”_

_“That’s because he wasn’t ready at that moment. It doesn’t mean that he isn’t worthy. Excalibur… has its own mind, per say. When I saw Jim for the first time, I felt the sword calling out his name. That’s how I knew he was the one.”_

_(End of Flashback)_

Jim stared in shock at Deya. “No way…”

“Yes way.” Deya smiled.

Jim ran his hands through his hair. “I can’t do this. I tried to pull out that sword before and it didn’t work.” He glanced at the rock where Excalibur was.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Jim. You had gone through too much that time. You needed time to heal. That’s why the sword didn’t allow you to pick it up.”

Jim stared at her. “But why me?”

Deya looked at the sword in the stone. “Long ago, a little troll told me that destiny was a gift and encouraged me to pursue it. I became the first Trollhunter and defeated Gunmar, banishing soon after.” She turned to Jim. “I don’t know what exactly Excalibur looks into to determine who’s worthy, but if I had to take a guess, it’s your heart.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “You have a strong, caring heart. You have compassion that no other Trollhunter had displayed and you took sacrifices to make sure everyone, even people you have never known, would be safe. Your heart is pure.”

Jim scoffed. “Arthur had Excalibur before and look how he turned out. He almost massacred you guys!”

“Arthur just lost his way.”

“And what if I lose my way too, Deya? He had been worthy at some point in his life!”

“You won’t.”

“And why is that?” Jim asked a bit angrily.

“Because you know pain more than most do.” Deya answered calmly. “It makes you empathetic, it makes you kind. Arthur was blinded by pain and didn’t know how to handle it, couldn’t live with it and move on. Not to mention that he was already biased against the magical world and he had a superiority complex, but you welcome pain as an old friend and you always put other before you. You are already a bridge between two worlds. You are the protector of both Troll Kind and Humankind and with Excalibur, you’ll only enforce it. You’ll become stronger than ever before.”

Jim silently look at the ground. “…I just don’t want to turn out to be like Arthur.”

“And you won’t. Want to know why?”

Jim nodded.

“Because you’re not as beefy as him!” Deya broke into hysterics.

Jim glared and crossed his arms. “Really funny… Just letting you know, I have been building some muscle!”

Deya wiped away a tear and chuckled. “Kidding. The reason is that you learn from your mistakes. Arthur never did. That’s a key difference.”

Jim glanced at her and then at the sword. He sighed. “Just to let you know, if this doesn’t work, I’ll just let a gnome eat me.”

“Too bad for that gnome, you’re going to pick it up.” She gently pushed him forward. “Go on. Don’t think, **_become_**.”

Jim smiled at the words that had been engraved into his soul since he was chosen as the Trollhunter. He took a deep breath and stepped forward. The sun was just settling on the horizon, the last rays of sunshine leaving this earth and the moon took over the reign of the skies. James Lake Jr stood in front of the legendary sword.

 _James Lake Jr…_ The sword called to him.

Jim gulped and turned his head to look at Deya, who gave him a thumbs up. He nodded and extended a tentative hand towards the handle of the sword. He wrapped his fingers around it just as the last rays of the sun disappeared and the moon’s glow took over. With a bit of strength, Jim pulled Excalibur out of the stone.

Deya nodded. “There you go…”

Jim turned around as he inspected the sword. He frowned as he saw in the metal words glowing in trollish. By this point, he knew enough trollish to decipher what it said.

“With Nimue’s Blessing… Excalibur will lead…”

The green gem encrusted at the center of the sword’s handle turned blue and started glowing. Blue magic started to surround him and rise him into the air. Deya watched in awe as the magic touched the center of Jim’s chest. Suddenly, white armor appeared all over his body. It wasn’t quite like Arthur’s, but more like the Trollhunter’s armor, only in white with various glowing blue lines, like Claire’s. Jim looked behind him and a blue cape appeared, reminding him of Nimue’s cape. And last, the magic wrapped itself around his head, forming a white helmet with horns that resembled the ones he had as a half-troll. The magic made placed a blue gem and two smaller ones on each side at the center of the helmet, making it look like a crown. The magic finally lowered him, and he stood on the ground, inspecting the new armor with a look of shook on his face.

Deya walked up to him. “I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder.”

Jim smiled at her as a few tears fell from his eyes. “Thanks, Deya…”

OOO

The shadow portal opened in the sky above the Town Center, scaring the citizens. Especially since a large white dragon flew out from it. Charlemagne landed right in the middle of it. “Uh! I forgot I am getting old!” He complained. “The arthritis is killing me! That’s it, everybody off!”

Douxie and Archie got off first, followed by Nimue and Claire. Charlie strengthen his wings a little and looked around. “Oh, look! Humans!”

Said humans screamed. Charlie rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. I’m not going to eat you!”

“Claire!”

Claire turned and saw Toby running towards her. “You’re back!” He stopped when he saw what she was holding. “Whoa…” He stared in amazement.

“Yeah… It’s a long story.” Claire scratched her head.

Morgana and Steve made their way over to them with Ophelia looming in the background. “Whoa…” Steve started at the Genesis Staff. “Does this mean you are the most powerful sorceress in the world?”

“Umm, I wouldn’t say that…” Claire started.

“But yes, Steve. She is.” Nimue finished. “She still has a lot to learn, but she has a splendid teacher in Hisirdoux. I will be willing to teach her many things as well if she’ll have me.”

“And I am always happy to help.” Said Douxie.

Cliare smiled. “Thanks, guys.”

Morgana gasped with a smile on her face. “By heavens, Claire! You…”

Claire smiled. “Yeah, I just got the news…” She gave a nervous smile.

Morgana smiled back. “Being a Queen is a lot of responsibility, but I could not be prouder of you.”

OOO

Ophelia stared at the exchange between the witch and her daughter. She stayed on the back. She wanted to hug her daughter so much and tell her how much she loved her. Claire quickly caught her eye but turned away quickly with a sad frown on her face. Soon enough, the Trolls had started to arrive and among them, a pink haired girl arrived and greeted them, quickly hugging Claire’s teacher. Barbara arrived soon after, the doctor barely gave Ophelia a quick nod to her direction before she turned to the group and demanded to be briefed on what was going on. Blinky had soon joined along with Aarrrgghh. Nana Domzalski soon after and proceeded to give Toby suffocating hugs.

Ophelia sighed, maybe it was best if her presence was elsewhere, mainly preparing for a war. A war her daughter clearly had to fight in. She wiped away a tear as she quietly walked away. If she was to win her daughter’s love and trust back, she will have to work for it.

OOO

“Where’s Jim?” Barbara asked.

Nimue cleared her throat. “I sent him on a path of self-discovery in the woods by himself.”

Silence.

Then, chaos reigned among the group.

“What do you mean by himself!?”

“What are you doing to him!?”

“He can’t go alone into the forest with everything that’s happening!!!”

“Not Jimbo! Take Steve, but not Jimbo!”

“Quit it, Buttsnack!” Steve punched Toby on the shoulder.

“If you turn him into some sort of lake monster, God help me, I’ll choke you!!!” Barbara screamed at her.

Nimue stared as the group pointed fingers and shouted at her. ‘ _Well, that was the wrong thing to say. I have to watch my words next time…_ ’ She thought. Without hesitating, she slammed her staff on the floor. The group fell into a tentative silence.

“Look, I know that last time Jim was sent on a mission alone, he was turned into a half-troll and forced to give up part of his humanity thanks to my ex-boyfriend. But I assure you, he will be fine. More than fine actually!”

Claire sighed. “Look, we want to believe you, but we already went through this and it sucked. Especially for Jim.”

“I know.” Said Nimue.

“What’s so important that he had to do alone?” Toby asked. He took out his Warhammer. “Unless you want to gain a spot next to Merlin’s name in my blacklist.”

Nimue looked behind him and smiled. “Why don’t you ask him?”

The group turned around and found Jim smiling back at them with Excalibur at hand and sporting a new shiny white armor, blue cape with a horned helmet resembling the horns he had as a troll.

“Hey…” Jim fiddled with the sword. “Uh… you know? I might have to stop running off without telling you guys.”

“JIM!!!” Claire ran to him and jumped into his arms.

“JIMBO!!!” Toby put away his Warhammer and went to hug his lifelong friend. “You scared us!”

Jim chuckled as he hugged them tight. “Sorry, Tobes. It won’t happen again.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Said Claire.

“You’re right. I’ll run off again.”

“Master Jim!” Blinky ran to them and hugged the three of them at the same time. “What a relief!” Suddenly, Blinky gasped and let go of the children. “By Deya’s Grace! Is that Excalibur!?”

The trio pulled away and inspected what Jim was holding. Toby smiled. “I knew it! I knew you were worthy!!!”

Jim chuckled. “Trust me, it took some arguing with Deya before she convinced me I could take it out.”

The group gasped. “Deya the Deliverer?” Blinky asked.

Jim nodded. “Nimue sent her with me. Apparently, she was the only that could get through my thick skull with this matter. Deya’s words, not mine.”

Claire grinned. “And she’s right.”

Jim did a double take on Claire. “Whoa! Claire! Is that the--!”

“The Genesis Staff? Yep.” Claire scratched her head. “You’re not the only one being chosen by ancient relics around here.” She laughed.

“Though, you must admit,” Said Douxie as he pulled Zoe closer to him. “Being chosen by two relics is quite a feat, Jim.”

Barbara walked up to Jim and hugged him. “I like the crown details, though.”

“Crown details?” Jim looked at her. “What details?”

“Here.” Claire touched the three blue gems on his horned helmet. “They kind of look like a crown.”

Morgana walked forward. “The sword chooses a worthy king. Which is why I believe your helmet also works as a crown. Though, my brother’s crown was not given by Excalibur. In fact, his armor wasn’t given by Excalibur…” She turned to Nimue, hoping that she would answer the unvoiced question.

Nimue was just smirking as she inspected her armored hand. “Oh, you’re asking me!” She feigned surprise. “Well, you see. Merlin took Excalibur when he imprisoned me in that horrid cave. I think I mentioned it when I handed him his ass on a plate. Long story short, he put the sword in the stone and told Arthur to remove it. Excalibur never really chose Arthur, but it worked with him because the sword could defend Camelot as Arthur was now king. So, in theory, he was kind of worthy to wield it, but not worthy enough to unlock its full power. It brought hope to an otherwise divided kingdom. But Arthur lacked most of the ideals Excalibur looks for in a worthy wielder.”

“Which are?” Charlie asked. Nimue jumped a bit. She had forgotten the dragon was there.

“Strong-willed, empathetic, pure of heart and possesses an understanding of true heroism. Between others. Sound familiar?” Nimue smirked. “No offense, Morgana and I don’t like speaking ill of the dead… but your brother was never worthy, despite what the legends may depict.”

“No offense taken. He was an arse. He can rot.”

“Morgana!” Douxie gasped. 

“What!? You’re thinking it too, Hisirdoux! Don’t act so noble!” Morgana frowned. Douxie rolled his eyes.

Claire grinned. “So, this means Jim is technically King of Arcadia!?”

“What!?” Jim had to lean a bit on Blinky for support. When he picked the sword, he was expecting to use it in the upcoming war, not becoming a king.

Nimue nodded. “Though, monarchy doesn’t work like that anymore. But yes. Technically, he is.”

Toby grinned at Jim and Claire. “So? Claire, you’re now a queen of the magical world. Jim is your king. When is the wedding to unify two worlds? I am the best man, right?”

Jim and Claire stared with their faces as red as tomatoes. The others just laughed while Steve took a video of the moment. For blackmail purposes, obviously.

Toby turned to Nimue. “Sorry for yelling at you, Nimue. You’re officially my favorite sorceress.” Nana laughed in the background.

Nimue laughed. “Your loyalty to your friends is a weapon on its own, Tobias. There is no need to apologize.” She grinned. “But the surprises are not ending here.”

Douxie arched an eyebrow. “Who else is getting crowned tonight?” He, Archie, and Zoe laughed.

Nimue smiled at Toby. “Give me your Warhammer.”

Toby had a look of confusion on his face but obliged none the less. Nimue made the Warhammer glow blue for a moment before it returned to its orange color and gave it back to Toby. The boy inspected it for a few seconds before looking at her. “What was that?”

“I did say your loyalty was a weapon on its own, didn’t I?” Said Nimue. “I enchanted your weapon to use your loyalty as a physical strength. It will be stronger than ever.”

Toby gave a long, exaggerated gasp. “Awesomesauce!”

“Kneel.” Said the sorceress.

“Come again?”

Nimue pointed at the floor, the others looked at each other in confusion. Only Steve was grinning. “Oh, yeah. It’s happening.” He mumbled. Toby glanced at Steve, who only gave him a thumbs up and mumbled something like ‘ _You’re doing great, buttsnack’_. Toby shrugged and kneeled on one knee.

“Tobias Domzalski. You have proven to be quite the friend and shield brother to the Trollhunter and Queen Claire. Your courage and loyalty in times of great need have been the backbone to success in many missions. You have trained hard, both with the trolls and under my tutelage later. After all, every king and queen need to rely on the strength of their closest warriors. Which is why tonight and forward,” She touched both his shoulders with the gem of her staff. “… you will be known as Sir Tobias of Arcadia. A title well-earned.”

“I knew you could do it, buttsnack!” Steve yelled as the group cheered.

Toby started bailing his eyes out as Jim and Claire went to hug him and everyone around applauded. Nana wiped her tears with a white handkerchief. “Oh, my Toby Pie is a knight…” She sobbed. “If only his parents could see this…” Barbara patted her on the back as she herself cried tears of joy.

OOO

“What’s all the commotion?” Merlin whispered to Nari as they approached the group.

“It seems they’re celebrating something.” Nari pondered.

Nari approached them first with Merlin following her, a duffle bag across his shoulder. He stopped dead on his tracks when he noticed the Trollhunters Trio.

  * Claire was holding the **_Genesis Staff_**.
  * Jim was wearing magical white armor with **_Excalibur_** secured on his back behind a blue cape.
  * And Tobias was receiving congratulations on becoming a **_knight_**.



Merlin blinked. “What did we miss? And what is Lady Claire doing with my mother’s staff?”

Douxie grinned. “Apparently, she was chosen by Ambrosia’s spirit to become Queen of the Shadow Realm and wield the staff. Jim got chosen by Excalibur and Toby got knighted by Nimue just a few minutes ago.”

Zoe smiled. “If you ask me, I think they were destined for those roles.”

Archie nodded. “Agreed.”

Nari smiled as she looked at the trio celebrating. “Their souls are happy; perfectly synchronized.”

Morgana walked over to the wizards. “I cannot believe Claire was chosen for such an honor! I am proud of her.”

Douxie smiled. “Same here. Claire will make a magnificent queen.”

Nimue chuckled. And now she has a king of her own, if you get what I mean.” Everyone minus Merlin started laughing.

Merlin stared at Jim dressed in white armor and blue cape and Excalibur strapped to his back. He smiled a bit. He was glad he had a new purpose in life. Perhaps this was the king he should serve under.

“Were you planning on knighting Toby, Nimue?” Zoe asked the half troll.

Nimue nodded. “He has been training under my watch along with Steve. I would have knighted Steve as well, but he is already a knight. Besides, Tobias has worked hard. He has earned it.”

“Wait a minute.” Merlin glared at her as he dropped the bag onto the ground and crossed his arms. “Only monarchs can knight someone. From what I read, only the Queen of England can currently knight someone in this current era.”

Nimue elbowed him hard on the ribs, making Merlin take on a fetal position. The wizards plus Archie cringed. The half-troll leaned closer to his ears. She whispered. “I do what I _fucking_ want. And you didn’t write the rules. Besides, he has the blessing of a sorceress. That’s a better blessing than any king or queen could give.” She helped him stand up. “Why do you think Lancelot was the best knight out of the Round Table?”

Merlin sighed. “Of course, he already had your blessing.”

Nimue glanced at the bag. “What do you have there?”

Merlin smirked. “Something to outdo you.”

“Outing Nimue!?” Steve called out and effectibly turning everyone’s attention to the wizards. “She just returned with Nuñez as a Queen, Lake got turned into a king chosen by Excalibur and Domzalski just got knighted! You can’t outdo that!” Steve pointed out.

Nimue looked at Merlin with a smug face and wiggled her eyebrows. Merlin groaned. “Fine! I can’t outdo that. But I can do this!” He tapped the duffle bag with his staff and the contents flew out of it. He directed the contents towards Douxie, Zoe and Archie and the metals wrapped themselves around their bodies in white glows.

When the glow dimmed, they looked at each other. Douxie grinned. “Nuclear! We got magical armor!” He looked at himself. His armor was a dark bronze with the fabric underneath black, similar to Merlin’s in shape, blue lines that were fueled by his magic drew runes and lines on the armor, the same went for his new helmet. Zoe’s armor and helmet were sky blue with silver lines and abstract patterns, fitting of her magic. Archie had a dragon shaped silver armor with a blue gem in the center of his now armored forehead. His glasses seemed to be attached to the helmet now. The armor covered a great part of his tail and the bones in his wings, making him look deadly.

Morgana whistled. “I’m impressed. Is this what you were working on?” She asked Merlin.

The wizard smirked. “Why, yes. I was.”

Jim smiled. “Today has been full of surprises, hasn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and for being so patient with me. Review and let me know what you expected or did not expected from this chapter!


	29. From Beyond the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nimue has some worries, Steve assures her everything will be fine. Aja arrives back to Earth... and her timing is simply the worst. But Steve loves her, no matter what. Also, Varvatos needs to control his destructive desires.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so LONG!!! I've been through a lot during the last couple of months and I've been working on other fics too. I'll admit that I was taking a long break from this fic as well. It will be finished! I promise! Just not now and updates will take a bit longer. This is probably one of the shortest chapters in the story, but that's because I cut a lot back due to it being irrelevant to the story. Also because I wanted some shameless Staja fluff.  
> I thank all of you for your patience and enjoy this chapter!!!

The whole town was a mad house. Wizards were running amok, mostly trying to teach Claire more control of the Genesis Staff, Trolls were building forts around the town and hedge wizards were reenforcing wards around important buildings, houses and stores to prevent great collateral damage. Charlemagne the dragon was still scaring the citizens, but soon warmed up to him as seeing he was just a gentle giant. He was helping as a blacksmith and forging steel swords with his fire using scrap metal people gave him, thus giving them weapons to better defend themselves in the heat of the battle. Jim was practicing with Toby as he tried to get a better feel of Excalibur. Douxie was helping Claire bond with the Genesis Staff. Everybody doing their part.

What was Steve doing? Well…

“Come on, princess! You can do better than that!” Nimue yelled as she attacked him with another ball of cold water.

Steve dodged and panted. “Why are you being so hard on me today!? And don’t call me princess!”

Nimue sighed and dropped the ball of water. “I fear that your training won’t be enough if you face a stronger opponent in the battle to come.”

“But I am strong! I can take it!”

“No, you cannot!” Nimue snapped. Upon seeing the look of shock in Steve’s face, she sighed. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s ok…”

“No, it’s not.” Nimue shook her head. “I am pushing you… because… The Arcane Order… they are ruthless and cruel. The Shadow Army can be as well, and let’s not forget Mordred.” She rubbed her face. “Just promise me, Steve… That you’ll take care of yourself out there when the battle comes.”

Steve smirked. “I will. I promise. And don’t worry, those creeps got nothing on me.” He flexed his arms to prove his point.

For a moment, the sorceress saw a younger image of Lancelot. Nimue laughed, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Come now, let’s take a small break.”

They sat on a bench. Steve leaned back and sighed. “Nimue, I will be ok. You know that, right?”

Nimue sighed. “I know, I just… I wouldn’t bear to lose you too.”

Steve looked down. _Lancelot…_ He thought. “Hey, it’s all gonna be ok.”

Nimue shook her head. “We are fighting Mordred, the evilest man this world has known. There will be casualties, Steve. And I know I may sound selfish… but I don’t want you to be among those numbers.”

Steve surprised her with a hug. “Don’t worry, grandma. I will be safe.”

Nimue chuckled and hugged him back. “I’ll hold on to that. And don’t call me grandma.” She pulled away. “Though, I must admit your mother didn’t take kindly to knowing about me and your abilities?”

Steve sighed. “She… she doesn’t like anyone keeping secrets from her. Now after my dad…” He looked away.

Nimue placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You must speak with Vivian, Steve. She’s your mother and she loves you. I know she won’t be so mad at you after you explain the whole situation and why you hid something so important from her.”

“I guess you’re right. I’ll talk to her—"

“Steve!!!”

Steve and Nimue turned to see a blue girl with four arms waving at them. Steve smiled and ran to her. “AJA!!!”

They met in between and hugged each other. They pulled away. “Aja! You’re here!”

“Me too!!!”

Steve looked behind Aja to see Eli running towards them and Varvatos and Luug were with him.

“Eli! My man! Looking good!” He slapped Eli on the back and finger gunned at Varvatos. “Have you been working out?”

“Varvatos works out his anger and thirst for revenge for sure.”

They laughed for a moment before Steve stared at them in total shock. “Oh shit…”

“Steve?” Eli asked. “What’s wrong?” He looked behind his blonde friend and saw Nimue patiently standing there with a smile on her face. “And who is that?”

Steve pulled at his hair and screamed. “You guys arrived **_AT THE WORST TIME POSSIBLE_**!” Steve almost pulled out his hair. “There’s a war coming up and there’s an ancient evil wizard that wants to destroy us all!”

“A war? GLORIOUS!” Varvatos threw a victorious fist into the air. “We arrive for a visit and we are received with an imminent war! Just glorious!”

“Varvatos, this is serious!” Aja turned to her guardian.

“Varvatos will make the most torturous of tortures and use Luug’s intestinal fury on his face!”

“Varvatos, no!” Aja facepalmed.

“VARVATOS, YES!”

“No, Varvatos!”

Steve groaned. “Look, Varvatos. Even if you tried to face him, you would be dead even before he saw you. Mordred is too dangerous for us, so the wizards are going to take care of him.”

“Varvatos is sure to have taken down more powerful enemies.” Varvatos said as he flexed his arms.

Steve groaned. “He has powers over dark magic itself and with just one look he will kill you. You won’t have the glorious death you desire. You’ll just be squashed like an ant. The only person in the world that could have defeated him, is dead by his hand.”

Varvatos let his arms down. “Varvatos is suddenly unsure about this enemy.”

Eli looked behind Steve and stared at the half troll with a wizard staff standing not too far from him. “Uh, Steve? Who is that?” He asked wearily.

Steve turned and motioned Nimue to come closer. “Would you believe me if I said this was my grandma?”

The aliens and the human stared at him as if he had just grown a second head.

Steve sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“One that I am more than happy to assist on telling.” Nimue smiled as she placed a loving hand on Steve’s shoulder. “I am Nimue, the Lady of the Lake.” She introduced herself.

Eli gasped. “You are the Lady of the Lake!? You’re a troll! That’s awesome!”

“Oh, and I have water magic that I inherited from her.” Steve stated.

Eli gasped. “YOU WHAT!?”

OOO

Coach Lawrence sighed as he threw into the pile the last batch of baseball bats that he could find. If the whole town was fighting in this war, might as well have enough weapons. He glanced at his right and saw Vivian Palchuk, Steve’s mom, and his fiancé, fiddling with some Nerf guns and customized them to shoot pepper spray pellets… or something like that. She was biting the inside of her cheek and frowned at the Nerf gun like it was her worst enemy. Just like Steve did when he was frustrated at something.

“What’s on your mind, Viv?”

Vivian sighed and placed the Nerf gun on the floor. She adjusted her red glasses and tucked her short blonde hair behind her hair. “I’m worried and angry at Steve.”

Coach sighed. “I get it, honey.”

Vivian continued her rant. “I mean, why didn’t he tell me about Nimue being our ancestor and that he had water magic!? Does he not trust me?”

“Of course, he does, Vivian!” Coach sat beside her. “It’s just… You know how Steve is. He probably didn’t want to worry you. As far as I know, Nimue asked him to keep it a secret.”

“But if I’m also her family, why keep it a secret from me too?” She rested her head against Coach’s shoulder. She was so tiny compared to him, even smaller than her son.

“I don’t know, Viv.” Coach scratched his head. “We haven’t actually met the Lady of the Lake in person. Maybe you can ask her those questions when we do.”

“You’re right, Lawrence. I’m sorry.”

OOO

After telling the Akaridions plus Eli a brief summary of what had happened since they left, Steve and Nimue guided the group back to the town center where Aja was reunited with Krel.

Nimue watched from the sidelines as old friends reunited with each other, brother and sister as well and watched as they interacted. Like they were with family. Though, there was one particular interaction she would tease Merlin about later on.

“Lively!” Said Aja as she poked Merlin’s staff.

Merlin frowned at Aja. “Please step away, girl. The Staff of Avalon is not a toy.”

Before Aja could talk back, Varvatos stood next to her with an intimidating gaze. “You do not talk back to the Queen of Akaridion 5! It is an offense punishable by death in Varvatos’ book!” He punched his hand, trying to make a point.

“Queen?” Merlin glanced at Aja. “But she’s just a child! What does she know about politics and diplomacy?”

Aja frowned and raised her chin. “A lot more than you, it appears.”

Toby groaned from the sidelines. “One minute you’re redeeming yourself and the nest you’re back to being a total douche. It’s really hard to like you.” He mumbled. Whether Merlin hear him or not, he did not care.

Varvatos smiled at Aja. “Spoke just like your mother!” He sniffed. “She would be proud.”

Merlin groaned. “Fine, whatever!”

“Begone, wizard! Before Varvatos pulls out your thumbs!”

“He needs his thumbs, Varvatos.” Aja argued.

“I NEED HIS THUMBS!!!” Yelled her guardian. “VARVATOS WILL TURN THEM INTO CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENTS AND HIS INTESTINES INTO CHRISTMAS GARLANDS!!! HIS HEAD WILL BE ON TOP OF THE TREE!!!”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “I have received far worse threats. But I will give you points for creativity. I bid you good day.”

Eli groaned beside Toby. “No wonder everyone wants him dead.” He whispered to Toby, who nodded.

Varvatos growled and Aja pulled him back. “Let him go, Varvatos. We let him be, and he will let us be. After all,” She grinned at the wizard. “Diplomacy is the practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of states, isn’t it?”

Merlin stared as Varvatos sobbed again. “Spoke like a true Queen…” He sobbed.

Merlin coughed. “Yes, it is true.”

Nimue chuckled and she watched Steve grab Aja’s hand and whisked her away from Varvatos ever watching eye. _Ah, young love…_ She mused. She glanced at Merlin with an air of nostalgia. Longing for the days when they were just children. _It used to be so much simpler back then…_

Merlin catches her eye. He simply nodded at her and quickly walked away, probably to Charlemagne. Nimue sighed. _Much simpler times…_

OOO

Steve and Aja ran towards a small pond, not too far from the town center. “I missed you so much, Aja!”

“I missed you too, my blonde oaf!” She pulled him for a kiss.

They stayed like that for a moment, wrapped in each other’s arms. “You know, you still have time to leave.”

Aja looked back at Steve. “I just arrived.”

Steve sighed. “Aja, things are going to get messy. Really messy. And I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Steve,” Aja caressed his cheek with one hand. “I’m a warrior queen. I know how to defend myself. Besides, I have experience with some evil lords myself.”

Steve smiled. “Just making sure you are ok with this.”

Aja smiled. “Steve, you helped me free my people from the hands of a tyrant. Allow me to help you this time.”

Steve kissed her on the forehead. “Ok. But don’t get hurt.”

“I wasn’t planning to.” She smirked. “But I want you to show me this water magic power you have.”

Steve smirked back. “Alright, your majesty. You asked for it.” He let go of Aja and extended his hand towards the pond water. He focused his energy onto his link with the liquid. In no time, he made two small figures of water: a boy and a girl with four arms. He made them waltz around the pond like the world was their dance floor.

“Lively…” He heard Aja whisper in amazement.

Steve blushed and kept his focus on the water. Aja rested her head on his defined shoulder as she watched the show. Steve glanced back at her with a lovesick smile. She was so perfect…

**_BOOM!!!_ **

Steve lost control of the water and it fell back on the pond. He and Aja looked behind them and saw a large tornado made of red magic. I looked like a storm of blood as it’s red light engulfed the town. Vine like ropes of magic sprung out from the tornado and started to attack the magical barriers Merlin and Nari had placed around Arcadia. Aja stared with wide eyes.

“Is… that…”

Steve nodded, not taking his eyes off the tornado. “We have to get back to the others.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review!!! I missed you guys!!!


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